Not Everything Is What It's Cracked Up To Be
by CarsCars2Fanatic
Summary: I don't want to ruin anything in the story, but I will tell you that there's some thrills, some terrors, and lots and lots of FLUFF! :D This is also my first story, so Read and Review, and please don't hate on me! *cowers in corner* Oh, and I don't own any of the Characters except for: Mariana, Foxy, Jack, Harry, Sara, Paul, And any other 'Caracters' not from either of the movies!
1. Meet Foxy

425

**Not Everything Is What It's Cracked Up To Be**

It was an average, normal day for a skinny seventeen year old girl named Elizabeth, but everyone called her Foxy, or Pajama Foxy because she was a Furry, or anthromorphic fox, and she loved wearing pajama bottoms. She was lying out under the large tree in her front yard, looking up at the clouds she could see around the leaves. She had been lying out there on one of her father's old blankets for nearly two hours, watching the clouds go by. Her father had passed away nearly five years ago, a few days after her birthday. She had been crushed for years, but then she had gone into high school and had met some friends who had pulled her out of her depressed state. They had been just as crazy as she was, and she loved every minute of it. She could barely remember what she was like before she had friends, and she liked it that way. She sat up, stretched, then stood up in the grass, looking around for the two children she occasionally babysat for down the street. She loved them to pieces, and they loved her right back, mainly because they had been friends ever since the older one had been two. There were no adorable, blonde-haired monsters hiding in wait to tackle her to the ground again, so she walked across her driveway to the attached garage. It was a two-car garage, a reasonably nice size with her mother's car closer to the house, and their other car on the farther side of the garage. She walked into the garage through the rolled-up garage door, then hit the button to open the other garage door. It groaned to life, having not been opened in a long time, and rolled upwards, letting sunlight in. Satisfied with her work, she walked out of the garage, going around to stand in the driveway again, facing the opened door which had been hiding something. She pulled back the cardboard box 'fence' that her father had put up years ago, and looked at what had been revealed.

Under numerous sheets, on planks of wood so the tires wouldn't touch the dirty floor, nose outwards, sat a pristine, sparkling 1982 Chevy Corvette in off-white, the same color as those sheets. Oh, how it drove her wild not having her license and being twenty-something so she could drive the long-nosed beast! Whenever the long nose moved out of the garage, she didn't know whether to laugh, cry, babble indiscernibly, or stand rooted to the spot, shaking with love. It was true, she loved the car, with its long, tantalizing front end, the curved fenders, the incredible door handles, all the way to its sideways colon-shaped taillights. She wanted the car to be hers, more then anything in the entire world, but her mother had told her no, and said that the car was hers until she decided on what to do with it. The girl had complained at first, but gradually let the matter rest. It was no use asking repeatedly for months on end, her mother had made up her mind. That morning, however, the girl had asked casually what her mother wanted to do with the car. "I was thinking I would sell it." Was the response. Foxy was horrified, and ran into the garage. Her mother was going to sell the car! Her father's pride and joy, gone from her life! It was a horrifying thought, since the car was really all she had left to remember him by, other then his workshop in the back of the garage. She didn't want the car to leave her, ever. She didn't know how long she stood there looking at the car, but when she looked up at the sky it was beginning to grow dark. She replaced the cardboard, then rolled the door down and went back out to get the blanket. She folded it back up, then put it back where she had found it. She looked up into the sky, and spotted a star flying through the night sky. Since there was no one else around, she spoke her wish aloud. "I wish that there was a place where my father's car could go so I could visit it, and it would never be sold." She felt a strange, tickling sensation, and opened her eyes to find that she was surrounded in a blue haze. "What's going on?" She asked to nobody in particular, looking around in a slightly panicked way.

Suddenly, the blue haze dissipated until she was dumped, rather rudely, into the dirt. Coughing, she stood up and attempted to look around, but abruptly felt dizzy and fainted, falling limply into the dirt once more. She awoke to bright lights, a steady beeping sound, and low voices. She blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the lights, and moved her arms and legs slightly, checking for broken bones. If that beeping sound meant anything, she was in the hospital, which meant that someone had found her. Maybe they knew what had happened to her. Finding none of her bones broken, she sat up slowly, and looked around. The walls were a stark white, and the floors were an aqua and white tile. Around the room were various tools that she recognized from her father's tool chest, and monitors that she guessed were from a hospital. "Where am I?" Foxy asked quietly, and absentmindedly felt around her neck for the collar she wore at all times. It was missing, and she began to panic because it had her house key attached to it. The machine began beeping louder and faster as her pulse quickened, and it didn't help to soothe her pounding headache. "Oh, be quiet." She said loudly, glaring at the monitor as though it were alive. If it was, it ignored her. She sighed, then began looking around for her collar. She finally spotted it, lying on the counter a few feet away. She realized that she was on some sort of car lift, and suspended up very high, high enough that she couldn't get down. She looked over the edge, and immediately regretted it. She knew how terrified of heights she was, and the long way down did nothing to soothe her. The machine began beeping even louder and faster, and she screamed, "SHUT UP, WILL YOU?!" She had failed to notice the voices had stopped after her first outburst, and realized why a second too late.

"You're awake." A slightly gravelly voice announced that someone else was in the room, and she clamped her mouth shut before turning to face the speaker.

"Yeah, I-" She froze midsentence as she saw who had spoken. Parked in the doorway was a cobalt blue 1951 Hudson Hornet, and it was alive.

"Fillmore was worried about you, keeps askin' when you're going to wake up." Foxy just stared at the car, slightly horrified.

'There is not a talking car there, there is not a talking car there.'She though to herself repeatedly, and didn't notice that she was shaking.

"You're awfully quiet." The Hornet commented, then noticed that she was shaking. "What's the matter? You're shakin'." She couldn't answer, just sat on the lift and continued to shake like a leaf. Finally, her words came back to her, and she opened her mouth. All that came out was a squeak, and the Hornet laughed. She found it easier to laugh, and when she did, it loosened her tongue a little.

"M-My name's Elizabeth, but everyone just calls me Foxy. Or Pajama Foxy." She added with a laugh.

"Then why does this say 'Mariana'?" Doc replied, holding up the collar with a tire and looking at it curiously.

"Oh, that's the nickname I gave myself! Some of my friends even call me Maria."

"There's another Mariana here. You might like her." The Hornet replied, and Foxy could hear a hint of Southern accent mixed in with the gravelly voice.

"C-Can I get down now, Mr...?"

"Just call me Doc."

"All right. Could I get down, Doc? I'm kind of terrified of heights."

"Sure." He hit a switch with a tire, and Foxy clung to the lift as it lowered to the ground. She stood up shakily, then walked off the lift.

"Thank you." She breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to Doc. "Could I have my collar back, please? It's got my house key on it."

"Certainly." He replied, handing it to her. She smiled, then put it on. She shook her head, making her hair dance from side to side as her tags jingled on her collar. "Much better. Thank you."

"I take it that you're just a girl, aren't ya?" Doc asked, and Foxy nodded.

"I have no idea how I got here though." She confessed. "The last thing I remember, I was looking at my dad's Corvette, then I saw a shooting star and made a wish."

"A Corvette, ya said?"

"Yeah, one of the classy ones. Why?"

"A Corvette showed up at around the same time you did, kept looking for ya."

"Where are they?"

"I think he's over at the motel for the night."

"It's nighttime?"

"Ya were out for three hours." Doc replied to her questions patiently, knowing that she was completely lost.

"Where is the motel? I should go check on 'him'." She said doubtfully.

"Just roll outside, you should see a sign that says 'Cozy Cone'." Doc replied, and she walked out the doors cautiously.

"Oh my..." Everywhere she looked, cars or something relating to them.

**Sorry for that REEEEEAAAAALLLLLY long document you guys! I decided to cut it down to chapters, since I don't normally write in Chapters, i write in pages. XD Anyways, here's how Foxy's introduced! How do you like her? She's supposed to be like me, just more awesome. And I don't own anything pertaining to Cars or Cars 2, although I wish I did. -_-**


	2. Foxy Meets Mater

Caution cones reaching for the sky, a 'V8' Café next door, a tire shop down the street, and a tow truck company that could use some work. She was dumbfounded, and her bottom jaw dropped nearly to her collar.

"It ain't big, but it's home." Doc had rolled out behind her, and was now looking out at the town.

"It's amazing! It's like one of my best dreams ever come true!" She exclaimed, her eyes wide with excitement.

"I don't know too much about your species, but from what I can tell, you don't have anything like this back home."

Foxy shook her head, and explained that back home, everyone looked like her, and the men were usually into cars, not girls. "Are there any Volkswagen Beetles here? I love them." She replied with a shy grin, and Doc chuckled.

"Mariana's one of 'em."

"She IS?"

"Yep. She's probably with Mater though." At that moment, a brown tow truck raced up to the two, its tow hook wagging as it was followed by five little cars.

"Hi!" Foxy exclaimed happily, then held out her hand for the tow truck to shake. It grinned and greeted her in a very Southwestern accent. Then she noticed the five cars that were huddled behind the dog at his side, peeking cautiously out at Foxy.

"I don't bite. It's all right." She said softly, and her whole aura changed to a calmer, more soothing one. She offered them a smile, and one of them came out from behind the dog. It looked up at her shyly, and smiled bashfully. It was a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda, pained a bright orange.

"Hi." From its voice, Foxy could tell it was a boy, and it must've been small compared to the other cars in the town, although it nearly came up to her stomach.

"Hi there. What's your name?" She asked, crouching down so she was at his height.

"I'm Harry." He replied softly, blushing slightly.

"That's a nice name. I'm Elizabeth. You can call me Foxy if you want."

"Okay, Foxy." He said softly, then giggled. One by one, the others came out from behind the large dog until they had all been introduced. When Mariana was the last to be introduced, Foxy's eyes lit up.

"Hmmm... Let me guess... Is your name Mary?"

"That's close. It's Mariana."

"So you're Mariana! Doc told me about you."

"He did?"

"Yeah, he said that you and me have the same name, at least on my collar anyway."

"But I thought your name was Elizabeth?"

"It is. That's my REAL name. My nicknames are Mariana, Foxy, and Pajama Foxy. Oh, and Maria too." Foxy replied, offering the Beetle a smile. Mariana grinned, and moved forward towards Foxy. Foxy, without thinking, reached up and set her hand lightly on Mariana's hood.

"What is that?" Mariana asked curiously, looking down at Foxy's hand.

"It's my hand. That's how I pick stuff up."

"Are you gonna pick me up?" Mariana asked suspiciously.

"No, I'm just setting it there, if it's okay with you, Mariana." Mariana smiled and nodded, and Foxy smiled back. She liked this little Beetle a lot.

"It's getting really dark out. Why don't you guys go to sleep?" Foxy asked, then yawned herself.

"I think you're sleepy too. Let's go see if Sally can get you a Cone."

"What's a Cone?"

"It's kind of like a house." Harry spoke up.

"Ohh, okay." Foxy replied, and patted Harry's hood gently. He giggled and they went to go find Sally.

"They're really cute." Foxy said to Doc, who had pulled up beside her.

"They're monsters." He chuckled.

"It's okay. I've babysat for two little monsters myself." Foxy smiled, and turned as the five came back, their tow truck friend and his dog already sleeping somewhere. Driving with them was a 2003 Porsche 9/11 Carrerra, and Foxy blushed. The Porsche was one of her favorite cars in her world, and she longed for one.

"Welcome to Radiator Springs. I'm Sally. I see you've met these five already." Sally laughed, and Foxy laughed too.

"They said that you needed somewhere to sleep for a few nights. You can gladly stay in my motel."

'Motel... motel... MOTEL!' Foxy's mind screamed at her, and she looked over at the motel, which was the cones she had seen earlier.

"By any chance, have you seen a Corvette over at your motel?"

"Yes, he just checked in about an hour ago. Is he a friend of yours?"

"Yeah, he is. Which... umm... room is he in?" Foxy cast around for the right word to use, and Sally laughed.

"He's in Cone number 3."

"Oh, thank you, Sally." Foxy replied, then smiled and walked over to the motel. She found cone number three, and looked around for a keycard entry, or a key slot, but she couldn't find anything. She knocked on the door timidly, and asked, "Hello?"

"Elizabeth?" The door rolled up, and standing there was her father's Corvette, only he had eyes where his windshield should've been, and a mouth on his bumper. "Hi! Are you all right?" He asked, looking at her with concern.

"Yeah, I'm okay. What about you?" He nodded his hood, and asked her if he had a name. "Huh?" She asked, confused.

"Everyone was asking my name, and I told them that it was complicated."

"Hmm... I guess you could go with... Uhh... Fernando?" He shrugged, turning his front tires outwards. "Hmmm... Rob?" He closed his eyes and shook his hood. "What about Chase?"

"It might work. I was sort of thinking... maybe... Max."

"Max? I like it." Foxy said with a smile, then yawned.

"Come on, let's get some sleep." Max chuckled, and Foxy laid down at his side, hoping that he wouldn't run her over. During the night, she woke up abruptly when Max nudged her roughly in his sleep with a tire. She moaned, rubbing her bruised ribcage, then had an idea and gently climbed onto Max's hood. She felt safer already, and laid down as slowly as possible, trying not to wake Max. She fell asleep quickly, and didn't wake up until morning. Max's startled cry of alarm rudely awoke her, and she tumbled off his hood at an alarmingly fast rate to land facedown on the floor.

"Liz, I'm so sorry, are you all right? You startled me, and I panicked, I'm so sorry!" Max apologized rapidly, looking down at her in fear. She was lying facedown on the floor, her hair covering her face, and was very still. She slowly sat up, rubbing her ribs and her head.

"You jerk." She said finally, swatting his hood lightly with a hand.

"Oh, thank god you're all right!" He sighed with relief and nudged her gently. She yelped as he nudged her bruised ribs, and he backed off. "I'm sorry!" He exclaimed, fear in his eyes.

"It's all right. Just don't scare me like that, okay?" She offered him a small smile, then gently rubbed her ribs, wincing. "Ohh, oww." She whispered, then dropped her hand gently onto Max's hood. "It's all right, Max. I should've let you know I climbed onto your hood last night."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, except for a few badly bruised ribs, I'm fine."

"Let's go see if anyone can help." Max said, then gestured to his hood. "Climb on."

**So here's the second chapter! I know I said that I'd be uploading on weekends, but I couldn't wait! Looks like Foxy's in a pretty bad situation, huh? And again, I don't own any of the Cars from the movies, although I wish I did... I'd so go for Mater. :D**

**I edited the chapter because a dog just seems to randomly appear when it should be Mater's pet Irish Wolfhound. He's brown, just like Mater. I might do a story on him after this one, not too sure. Keep on reading!**


	3. Foxy's Injury

"You're not going to dump me off again, are you?" Foxy teased, and Max rolled his eyes, which were a warm brown, almost like her father's.

"Just climb on, would you?" Foxy climbed onto his hood, wincing because of her ribs, then sat down, cringing and curling her long legs up in front of her ribs, as though trying to protect them. Max looked down at her worriedly, then opened the garage door. They were instantly assaulted by blinding white sunlight, and squinted, trying to get used to the sunlight.

"Ah!" Foxy replied, shielding her eyes with her hands.

"No fair, I can't do that..." Max pouted, and Foxy snickered.

"Here, let me help." She held up her hands to shield Max from the sun, but her hands weren't big enough, and Max sighed.

"Thanks for the thought, but it didn't work. Anyways, I'm used to it now." Foxy smirked at him, and he looked back at her. "Don't make me dump you again." He teased, chuckling, and she giggled, then winced because of her ribs.

"Okay, no more laughing for a while..." She whispered, wincing again. Max looked down at her worriedly, then asked her if she was all right. "Let's just say, I'm not going to be able to go home for a while." She said.

Max almost nodded, but caught himself in time and replied,"Yeah, you probably won't." They drove out into the sunlight, and looked around. It seemed everyone was over at the Café, so they headed there.

"It's about time ya woke up, honey! We were gettin' worried about ya! What's that on your hood?" Flo greeted him, looking curiously at Foxy.

"That's Foxy. She's really nice." Harry spoke up from Flo's hood, and she smiled down at him.

"Why's she all curled up like that, man?" Fillmore asked, looking at her with mild curiosity.

"There was an accident this morning, and it was... kind of... my fault." Max said quietly, and cast his eyes down to Foxy, lowering his hood in shame.

"I told you it wasn't your fault. It was mine, Max." Foxy said sternly, then groaned softly and winced.

"What happened?" Doc asked.

"I fell asleep on the floor next to him, and he shoved his tire into my ribs and woke me up, then I climbed onto his hood to sleep. This morning he freaked out because he didn't know I was on his hood, and I fell off his hood, hit my ribs on the floor, and ended up face planting the floor." Foxy replied shortly.

"Ohh, ouch." Lightning winced as he listened.

"Yeah, you can say that again." Foxy shot in his direction, then cringed as she rubbed her ribs. "I'm fine though. It's just a few bruised ribs is all." She said quickly, trying to downplay the situation, nervously looking over in Doc's direction. She didn't want any of them fussing over her.

"Max, bring her over to the clinic, please." Doc replied, backing out of his spot and driving to his clinic.

"No, really, I'm fine you guys. There's no need to make a fuss over m-Oh!" She shrieked as she almost rolled off Max's hood as he backed up to follow Doc.

"Sorry, Elizabeth! Sorry!"

"Max, it's fine. Really. Just let me know when you're going to move, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Max replied sullenly, following Doc.

"Hey, come on, cheer up. We met lots of them." Foxy said, trying hard not to wince but failing miserably.

"Yeah, I guess we did." He replied, brightening a little. He rolled into the clinic, looking a little scared for Foxy. She just curled up on his hood, and tried not to show so much pain.

"You might've broken something when you fell, so we're going to have to put you on the lift." Doc replied hesitantly, and Foxy visibly shrank backwards at his words.

"D-Do you really have to? Couldn't I just stay here?"

"Elizabeth, stop, please. We're only trying to help." Max said firmly, and Foxy grew silent quickly. She slowly slid down off Max's hood and walked over to the lift. He imagined that if she did have a tail, like her fursona did, it would've been drooping to the floor. She climbed up onto it, then sat down slowly.

"Not so high." She said suddenly, and Doc chuckled.

"You're not even off the ground yet."

"Oh." She said, then was silent. Doc flipped the switch for the lift, and it began to rise. Foxy didn't look down, but instead focused on Max, who was watching her also. He thought she looked terrified, and even thought that she was shaking slightly. He offered her a hopeful smile, and she returned one that wasn't happy at all. They discovered after about an hour that her ribs were just badly bruised, and Max sighed in relief. Doc wrapped her ribs with gauze, then secured it. "How'd you get so good at that? I thought cars didn't have ribs." She asked once she was back on Max's hood.

"You don't know the animals Fillmore brings in." Doc sighed, shaking his hood in bewilderment.

**How about that for a third chapter? And again, I don't own any of the 'Caracters' (like my new word?) that are in the movie and my stories at the same time, although I do have a plush Mater with rocket boosters that sets next to my pillow... :D Anyways, please don't steal, Read and Review, blah blah, blah. I feel like making this more exciting. Anybody want to know an interesting fact? Domesticated foxes(yes, there are such things and I want a red fox really bad!) can purr, like a cat. It's so cute! ^^**


	4. Foxy Meets Fillmore

Max chuckled, then lifted his hood up slightly, signaling he was going to back out of Doc's. Foxy was ready for it, and didn't slip as she laid down on her uninjured side. "See? That wasn't so bad, right?"

"I guess not." Foxy sighed, and Max snickered. They went back over to the café, and found all the other cars waiting for them.

"You all right, honey?" Flo asked Foxy, who nodded and smiled. "That's good. We were worried about you."

"Thanks, but I don't want you guys to fuss over me. I'm just a girl." She shrugged, then winced slightly as her ribs moved.

"Yeah, but you're the only human here, man." Fillmore told her, and she blushed.

"Really?" Her question was met with nods and grins, and she relaxed as the morning wore on.

"Hey, do you guys want to come to Willy's Butte with us?" Harry called, and Max and Foxy looked at each other.

"Why not?" They agreed, and Max lowered his hood slightly, signaling he was going to drive forwards. Foxy prepared herself, and didn't get sent up and over his roof as he sped up slightly. They followed the children, and soon arrived at Willy's Butte.

"Wow, this place is incredible." Foxy said in awe. "You want to go try it out?" She looked into Max's eyes.

"Are you going to be-"

"Of course I will. Go try it." She urged him, then slid off his hood. He smiled at her, then left for the track. The children were begging him to race, and he looked up her way.

She called out, "Go for it!" and he laughed. She could see him agree to race, and the five all cheered. At the sound of another engine, she turned around to see the van they called Fillmore standing a few feet away. "Hi." She greeted him, and he drove closer once she acknowledged him.

"Mornin', man." He greeted her, parking at her side.

"What brings you down here?" She asked. She figured he wasn't a big racing fanatic, so his arrival peaked her interest.

"Lookin' at the scenery." He replied, and she smiled.

"It is really pretty."

Fillmore nodded approvingly. "You're pretty groovy, man."

"Thanks... umm...?"

"The name's Fillmore. You should try some of my organic fuel." He said, and she giggled.

"Is it made for humans?"

"It's the wildest trip you'll ever take." All the same, he shook his front end sadly.

"Really? Maybe we can make some that I could taste?" She offered, and he nodded happily.

"Far out." They spent the next few hours talking about flowers, and their favorite hobbies. It turned out, they had more in common then they thought. They both liked the outdoors, and clouds, and sunflowers.

It was late in the evening, and Max still hadn't stopped racing around the track, loving the feel of the dirt on his tires. Foxy had long since started leaning on Fillmore, gently at first, then gradually turning so her whole back was against his side, she had began to doze off, her legs curled up and her head resting against Fillmore's side, barely reaching up to his four-way lights.

As the sky turned a darker blue then it already was, Fillmore nudged her gently with a tire."C'mon, man. Time to go back." He whispered, and her eyes opened, blinking sleepily.

She yawned, and asked, "Is it morning?"

"Not yet, man, but it is gettin' late. Tell your friend down there that ya can come stay with me for the night, if ya want, man." Fillmore offered.

Without a second thought, Foxy called, "Max, I'm going with Fillmore. Good night."

"See you tomorrow!" Came a shout, and Foxy staggered to her feet, wide awake now. She started back, following Fillmore, who was leading the way. They arrived at the main road at about ten o' clock, and Fillmore led her into his dome, where she dropped onto the first thing she saw, which was one of his bean bag chairs.

"Night, Fillmore. And thanks." She said with a smile before she fell back asleep, and she thought she heard, "No problem."

She woke up the next morning, momentarily wondering where she was. She remembered the night before, and as her vision came into focus, she spotted Fillmore lying by her side, sleeping quietly. She rolled over to face him, and drifted back to sleep under the tye-dyed blanket someone, most likely Fillmore, had laid over her.

Fillmore woke up about fifteen minutes later, yawning. He spotted her still sleeping, and gently nudged her with a tire again, trying to wake her up.

"Hm?" She asked without opening her eyes.

"Time to get up, man." Fillmore told her, and Foxy opened her eyes, looking up at Fillmore sleepily.

"Morning." She said around a yawn, then giggled sleepily. She stretched, then sat up in the beanbag chair. Her hair, which had been up in a ponytail, had come out of the ponytail holder and was now extremely messy.

"Ya look like a tumbleweed, man." He told her, and she felt her hair.

"I probably do." She giggled, and pulled out a pocket brush and began brushing her hair. Fillmore watched her, curious. When she was done, it flowed in neat waves down her back and shoulders, stopping at mid-stomach length.

"Woah, man. It's really long." Fillmore commented, and Foxy smiled.

"Thanks. I've been trying to grow it longer though."

"Isn't it long enough?" Fillmore asked, and Foxy laughed.

"I've always had long hair, and a few years ago I got it cut short. I wanted to try something new, but I didn't like it, so I let it grow."

"Far out, man." Fillmore commented, touching her hair gently with a tire. "It's really soft, man."

"Thanks. I think it feels like bunny fur myself." She giggled as she felt his wheels running through her hair gently. A bugle sounded from next door, and Fillmore drove over to a table, giving Foxy a smile before turning on 'The Star Spangled Banner', by Jimi Hendrix.

"You like this too?" She asked in wonder, and he nodded.

"Would you turn that disrespectful junk off!" Came Sarge's gruff voice.

"Who's that?"

"That's Sarge, man. He lives next door." Fillmore said, then drove to the entryway of his dome. "Respect the classics, man! It's Hendrix!"

"How many times do I have to tell you, hippie?! I don't care WHO it is! It could be you for all I care! Shut it off!"

"Hey, leave us alone!" Foxy wasn't even aware that she had walked over to the entrance, much less that she had yelled that.

"You can't tell me what to do, you scrawny human!" Sarge shouted defiantly.

"SCRAWNY! I'll show you who's scrawny!" She shrieked, and marched over to the fence separating the two yards. "Listen here, you! I am not scrawny! I can lift seventy pounds! Not every girl can do that, at least not where I'm from!"

"That's still scrawny to me!" Sarge shouted back, a snarl on his bumper as he glared at the human over the fence.

"Right on, man! Fight the power!" Fillmore called from his dome.

"Can it, hippie!" Sarge shouted at him.

"Why don't you can it, Sir-yes-Sir?! And maybe we will too!" Foxy shouted back. Her voice was starting to get raspy from all the yelling, but she ignored it.

"Who's going to make me?!" Sarge shouted back.

"I am!" With that, she vaulted over the fence and landed on Sarge's hood, hard enough to make him wince in surprise. "Now, why don't you just drive back into your hut and start organizing again, like you probably do every morning, you got that?" When Sarge didn't answer, she shouted at the top of her lungs, "YOU GOT THAT?!" And cracked her knuckles threateningly, throwing him a glare that rivaled his. "And next time, don't blare that crap at five in the morning! At least wait until MOST of us are awake!"

Sarge glared at her, then dropped his eyes to his hood. "Affirmative." It was so low, Foxy didn't think she heard it.

"I can't hear you! Are you a Jeep, or are you a Smart car?!"

"I said, 'Affirmative', Sir!" Sarge spoke up, and Foxy narrowed her eyes at him.

"Good. Shut that racket off." She told him in a growl, and Sarge nodded. Foxy climbed down from his hood. She gave him a hard stare, and he snapped to attention.

"At ease." She said, then climbed back over the fence. Sarge drove inside quickly to shut off his record player, and Fillmore shut off his. "That wasn't so bad, right?"

"Ya told him off, man. He never gets yelled at like that."

"Yeah, well, my brother and I usually have shouting matches at my house."

"You've got a bro? Far out."

"No, he's not. He could throw me into a wall without trying."

"Woahh." Fillmore replied, looking slightly shocked.

"I-It's nothing. He does it all the time." Foxy replied quickly, trying to cover up the mistake of telling him the way she did. It didn't help, and Fillmore looked at her sadly.

"That's not cool, man. Why's he do that?"

"Because I like the same things he does."

"That's totally not cool, man. Where's the love?"

"He's as bitter as Sarge."

"That's pretty bad, man."

"Yeah, you're telling me."

"Ya could stay with me if ya wanted to, man." Fillmore offered.

"Thanks, Fillmore. I think that's groovy." She said, then giggled. They departed his dome and looked up at the sky.

"Looks like it's gonna rain, man." Foxy nodded in agreement, and rubbed her bruised ribs gently. They seemed to be aching worse then usual, and she could only guess that her encounter with Sarge didn't help any. She sighed, and they went down the street, side by side.

They arrived at Flo's, and Max drove over to her, smiling.

"Morning, Max." She smiled, and he said nothing, just kept smiling up at her. "What?" She asked with a laugh.

"I thought I was loud, but you've got me beat." Lightning spoke up, laughing.

**Hi, everybody! I figured that I should upload something, since I haven't since last year! Har de har! All kidding aside, I really wanted you guys to see the way Foxy reacts to Sarge's yelling, because I had so much fun writing that part! I was acting out the entire thing to get it to sound right, and I was trying to think of things I would say in a situation like that, it was just hysterical. I'll bet that if there were any hidden cameras in my house, I'd have won a million dollars on America's Funniest Home Videos. XD **

**See ya soon, CarsCars2Fanatic. (If you guys need a name, just call me any nickname of Elizabeth ;])**


	5. Foxy Meets Thunder

"Is this about me screaming at Sarge?" A café full of laughter proved her suspicions correct, and she sighed, sitting down beside Fillmore. "He annoyed me! Plus he called me scrawny! I'm not scrawny!"

"You kind of are."

"I am NOT!" She replied indignantly, and the others laughed. "Now what's so funny?" She asked in exasperation, looking around.

"You sound horrible. I think you lost your voice when you were screaming at Sarge." Doc nudged her gently, chuckling.

"That's not news to me." She replied shortly, shrugging.

Sheriff shook his hood, then introduced himself. "Ya sound like a frog."

"Gee, thanks!" She replied with an eye roll, and he laughed. "You guys have any coffee? I could drink a cup or two."

"I sure do! How do you like it?"

"Black."

"You sure? It's awfully strong..."

"I can handle it."

"Okay, if you say so, honey. Comin' right up." Flo drove back into her café to make the coffee, and Foxy leaned up against Fillmore. He leaned back briefly, then straightened again. Foxy smiled, and Flo returned shortly with her coffee.

Foxy tasted it, and smiled. "It's good. Better then I've ever tasted."

"Thank you, honey. I'm glad you like it." Flo said with a smile, then went to serve the others. Foxy sat contentedly leaning against Fillmore, drinking her coffee and listening to the others talking, occasionally answering a question.

The day wore on, and the others were waiting for Foxy to have a caffeine rush. It never came, she only began to talk more, especially about her home.

By mid afternoon, she had learned the others' names, and discovered that Mater was the tow truck with the large dog, which was now lying contentedly at her side as she scratched behind his ears. It seemed that she loved dogs, and the spark in her eyes when she was focused on him proved it. In return, he slobbered all over her, licking her face, making her laugh and try to push him away. He ignored her hands shoving him and continued until she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Okay. I'm clean now. Thanks." She said, looking into his eyes and giving him a smile. He licked her face once more, then laid down again.

"Don't you usually eat anything?" Lightning asked, and she smiled.

"I eat like a bird. All I need is a coffee, and I'm ready to go."

"That's impossible. You couldn't possibly survive on just coffee." Doc replied, and Foxy rolled her eyes upwards, staring into her bangs and grinning.

"It's just an analogy." She told him, and asked if there were any apple trees around.

"Out by the orchard, man." Fillmore replied, and offered to take her there himself.

"Sure, Fillmore. Thanks." She smiled, then they set out for the orchard. When they arrived, Foxy climbed onto the fence and sat down on the top rail. Fillmore drove over to her, and she turned around to face him, now being able to look directly into his windshield. She smiled, then pointed back towards the trees.

"They're over there?"

Fillmore nodded.

"I'll be back soon." She told him, rotating on the fence rail and hopping down into the wheat field. She crept along the fence line, seeing tractors scattered here and there, not wanting to disturb them. She reached the orchard, and climbed into the nearest tree. She grabbed a couple of apples that looked all right, then tried to look for a way to jump down. She noticed that if she jumped, she would drop the apples. She thought hard, and bit down on a part of one of the apples, holding onto it tightly in her teeth. She put the other ones into her pockets, and two more in her mouth by the stems. She went back the way she came, and swung onto the fence rail, smiling at Fillmore before biting into a juicy red apple. He shook his front end in bewilderment, watching her calmly.

She giggled, and then noticed that the tractors had come closer, watching her with a cautious curiosity. She smiled, then looked to Fillmore. "Watch this." She told him, then to his surprise, she jumped into the wheat field. The tractors scattered, but she crooned to them, bringing them back to her. One nudged her none too roughly, and she fed it the apple core, then quickly fed the others before climbing out before they could trample her.

"How did ya know they liked apples, man?"

"I didn't." She replied with a smile.

"I noticed some of the lower apples had been chewed on, and I guessed it was from them." They talked all the way back to the town, and reached Flo's in no time at all. She munched on another apple as she leaned against Fillmore's side again, and the others all chuckled.

"Did you meet up with Frank?" Lightning asked.

"Who's Frank? Is he one of the tractors?" She asked.

Lightning shrugged. "Never mind." He said, and Mater's dog, Thunder greeted her, his tail wagging.

"Hey, boy." Foxy laughed, petting him as he circled her happily. He sat, and whined, his tail thumping against the ground.

"This is my apple. If you want one, I'll get you one tomorrow." She told him, and the others laughed.

"He wants you to play fetch." Brian told her, and she laughed.

"Ohhh, all right! Lead the way, Thunder. I'll see you guys soon." She smiled, then followed Thunder, who was barking impatiently from the dirt road leading to Willy's Butte. He romped around her in wide circles, and she was sure that he was doing it for her entertainment. They reached Willy's Butte, and he brought a large stick up to her, his whole body wiggling happily.

"All right. Here it goes!" She picked it up, then threw it as far as she could. He took off after it, then came back, dropping it at her feet. "Good boy!" She told him, and he barked, wanting to fetch more.

"Okay, okay, here comes another one!" She threw it far, and he took off after it, kicking up dirt and showering her in it. When he came back, she was lightly coated in orange dirt, coughing as she dusted herself off. She threw it far again, and Thunder went after it, kicking up dirt and showering her again. They continued for a few hours like that, her throwing the stick and getting covered in dirt, then Thunder dropping the stick at her feet after he got it. Finally, Thunder laid down, panting.

"Aw, come on. You're honestly not tired, are you?" Her ribs were throbbing, but she ignored them. She was also beginning to get a dull headache, but ignored that also. Thunder whined and she gave up.

"All right." She winced as her ribs gave a particularly painful throb, and she whimpered softly. Thunder sat up, looking at her with his ears pricked and his head cocked. Her ribs throbbed more painfully, and she yelped in pain, wincing as she sank down to the ground. Thunder was by her side in seconds, nudging her gently and whimpering.

"G-Go get Max, please." She begged in a whisper, and he took off faster then she would've expected. It was getting close to sunset, and she knew that if she didn't move, she'd most likely freeze. She started to get up from the ground, but her headache grew worse and her head began swimming.

She moaned, holding her head in her hand, trying to stand. She spotted a white shape on the horizon, and smiled weakly. She winced again as her ribs gave another painful throb, and she laid down, curling up into a ball and hugging her ribs tightly. The white shape broke apart, and she saw a green blob with Max. At first she thought it was Flo, but then she saw it was Fillmore. She moaned softly, and Max rolled up to her, Fillmore arriving slightly after. She didn't hesitate to try to climb onto Max's hood, wincing.

"Ow." She whispered repeatedly, laying down when she had gotten onto his hood and curling into a ball. Max looked down at her in horror as he heard her whimper softly when another wave of pain hit her ribs.

"Liz? What's wrong? What happened?"

"I-I don't know. I-I was throwing the stick for him, and my arm was getting tired, so I-I switched to this one." She weakly waved the arm on her left side, the same side as her bruised ribs. Fillmore watched her worriedly, wanting to help but not knowing how.

"Maybe she had a bad apple, man." He said, and Max looked down at Elizabeth worriedly. She was shaking, curled up into a ball, and whimpering.

"I hope so."

"Ya can bring her around the back way to my home, man." Fillmore offered, and Max nodded slightly. He drove back up with Fillmore, Thunder jumping onto his hood and curling around Foxy. He laid his muzzle gently on her leg, and whimpered when she reached over and petted him shakily.

"Th-Thank you." She whispered, and Thunder licked her hand gently. The way back to Fillmore's dome was filled with bumps and rocks, and Foxy was jostled numerous times. She whimpered each time she was jostled, and Max apologized each time.

"I-It's okay, Max." She said softly, and Thunder curled around her more. He felt her lay her head on his stomach, and allowed himself one tail wag. He tried to adjust his position to make her more comfortable, and ended up with his head near hers as she hugged him like an overly large stuffed toy, laying her head on his shoulder. She fell asleep on Max's hood, and he stopped in horror, mistakenly thinking that she had fainted. "Is she all right?" Max whispered to Thunder, who wagged his tail. Max, who hadn't seen Thunder wag his tail the whole time, knew that she was all right.

**Holy Ford! That's pretty intense! It's a good thing Mater's buddy Thunder is such a good dog. ;) What's the matter with Foxy though? Any ideas on what caused that pain? **

**Till next weekend, Liz**


	6. Foxy Teaches Fillmore About Soccer

They arrived at Fillmore's dome about an hour later, and Max accidentally bumped to a stop, waking Foxy up. She moaned and sat up, holding her head. "What happened?" She asked hoarsely.

"We're not really sure. We found you lying in the dirt in a ball. You climbed onto my hood and kept wincing and whispering 'Ow.' Then you said that you had started throwing the stick with your left hand when your right got tired. I think you might've bruised your ribs even more by doing that." Max explained, and she laid back down on his hood, cuddling up to Thunder. "Then you fell asleep on him a little while ago."

Foxy petted Thunder, whose tail was wagging gently. "Thanks." She told him, and he licked her gently.

"C'mon, man." Fillmore said softly, and Foxy slid down off Max's hood. Thunder jumped down with her, and she set her hand on his head. He walked inside with her hand still on his head, then she collapsed in the chair she had slept in the night before.

"Thanks, Fillmore." She whispered before she fell asleep, curled up, her arms around her ribs protectively. Max departed Fillmore's, and drove back over to his cone. He needed a nice long nap after this. Thunder tugged the blanket over Foxy, then laid down at her side, resting his muzzle on her legs again. Fillmore laid down at her other side after nudging the top of her chair into a more comfortable shape for her. He fell asleep still worried about her, and in the morning, before she was awake, he drove over to Sarge's to tell him not to play the record player.

"And why not, hippie?" Sarge barked.

"There was somethin' wrong with Elizabeth last night, man."

"What do you mean? She seemed fine to me." He replied gruffly.

"No, later last night." Fillmore insisted, and Sarge sighed.

"Fine."

"Right on, man." Fillmore said with a smile, then departed Sarge's hut. He entered his dome and saw Foxy sleeping yet, Thunder somehow having wormed his way into the chair so he could curl around her, like he was doing now. Foxy rolled over in her sleep, and snuggled into Thunder's side, rubbing her face gently against his shoulder. He looked over at her, and saw that she was awake. He guiltily crept out of the chair.

"It's all right. I'm not mad." She told him drowsily, and he came back to her, curling around her. She laid back down, pillowing her head on Thunder's shoulder again, and she fell asleep. Fillmore watched from near the entrance to his dome, smiling softly. It was pouring rain, and he was still slightly wet from his talk with Sarge. He drove out into the rain a few minutes later to get Foxy a coffee. He ordered his usual, then ordered another one, black, because he knew that Foxy liked it black.

"Is she all right?" Flo asked, guessing who the second coffee was for.

"Yeah, she's sleepin' now, man."

"Oh, wonderful! Tell her I said hello. I don't want her coming out in this."

"Can do, man." Fillmore smiled, then left for his dome, once again getting soaking wet. He stopped just inside the entranceway, set the coffee down, then shook himself free of rainwater. He picked the coffee back up, then drove over to Thunder and Foxy. He set her coffee down, then laid down on her other side. At him nudging her gently, she woke up slightly, looking up at him drowsily.

"Hi, Fillmore." She yawned, smiling.

"Mornin, man. Flo says mornin' too." He gently nudged her coffee closer, and she picked it up.

"Thanks, Fillmore. That was really sweet of you." She smiled gently, then took a sip. "You remembered that I like it black, too." She smiled a little more, then looked up at him. "You're soaking wet."

"It's rainin' like crazy out there, man."

"Let me help you dry off." She said softly, then got to her feet. Fillmore shook his front end.

"I'm all right, really. Ya shouldn't do too much, man. Remember what happened last night."

"The least I can do is help you dry off." She said firmly, then began drying him off, wiping the water away with her hands as best as she could, then finally giving up and sitting back down. He laid down by her again, and gave her a friendly nudge, still slightly covered in rainwater.

"Ya tried, man." She nodded, and he could tell that she wasn't satisfied. He noticed her shivering, and asked what was wrong.

"I'm just a little cold is all. It's no problem, Fillmore." She smiled up at him before he could go anywhere.

"Are ya sure, man?" He asked, looking down at her in concern.

"Yeah, totally. I'll just need to get my sweatshirt from Max. He always has an extra one of my dad's old ones." She answered with a smile, then stood up.

"Ya can't go out there, man. It's rainin' like crazy." Fillmore objected, but she shook her head.

"A little rain never hurt anyone." She smiled up at him. "Besides, I love the rain. It's nice and soothing. And it's fun to play soccer in."

"What's 'soccer', man?"

"I'll show you. Thunder, do you know if Mater has a big ball?" Thunder barked, then bolted out of Fillmore's dome. He was just about to run out of Lightning's cone with a large ball, when he heard Foxy thanking Max from Cone 3. He nosed the ball over, and saw Fillmore waiting outside while Foxy hugged Max, then pulled the sweatshirt on. It looked two times two big for her, went down to her knees, and the sleeves drooped over her hands.

"Thanks again, Max." She smiled, patted his hood, then went into the rain with Fillmore.

She spotted the ball, then announced, "Perfect! Good boy, Thunder!" She rolled the sleeves up on the sweatshirt, but they just drooped down again. She giggled, and Fillmore looked confused.

"Now ya can't catch the ball, man."

"I don't catch the ball with my hands. I use my feet in soccer. Thunder, do you want to help?" Thunder barked happily. "Okay, good boy. All you need to do is try to not let the ball get past you." Thunder nudged the ball in her direction, and she kicked it gently, sending it rolling towards Thunder, who nudged it back. She kicked it, and it flew over his head. He took off after it, and hit it with his jaws, stopping it. Then he rolled it back her way, and she stopped it. "That's really all there is to it, Fillmore. Do you want to try?" By this time, her hair was soaked and hanging in strings down her back and over her shoulders.

"Sure, man." He replied, and she kicked the ball towards him. He hesitantly moved a tire towards the ball, and sent it flying back towards her. She gasped, then kicked it skywards, sending it flying into the rain. They both watched as it came down some fifty feet from them. It bounced about six feet in the air, then gradually stopped bouncing.

"Great kick, Fillmore!"

"Sorry 'bout that, man." He replied guiltily.

"What's there to be sorry about? That kick was amazing!"

"I almost hit ya." Fillmore replied.

"Hey, I'm fine. Look." Foxy replied gently, holding her arms out. She spun in a circle, tilting her head back to catch raindrops. A few hours later, she began shaking slightly, and Mater nudged her in the direction of Lightning's cone.

"I'm f-f-fine, Mater, r-r-really." She objected, but Mater wasn't buying it. Even Thunder had gone inside by this time.

**Sorry for the late upload! And EmilytheBrave, I'm glad you liked my story! I love to act out the scenes between Sarge and Fillmore too. Those two are just too hysterical! Anyways, Mater may or may not play a big part in this story, I'm not sure yet. I know for a fact that his dog seems to have more 'screen time' then he does... XD Anyways, all the usual stuff, Read and review please, no stealing, I don't own anyone except Foxy, Max, the children, and Thunder.**


	7. Foxy Babysits The Triplets

Her sweatshirt was soaked with rainwater, and her teeth were chattering.

"C'mon, man. Let's go get another coffee." Fillmore told her, and she followed after, shaking as her teeth chattered. They arrived in Flo's, and she gasped when she saw Foxy.

"Were you outside all this time, honey?" Flo asked. Foxy could only nod, and Flo drove back into her shop, shaking her hood and sighing. She brought back a coffee for both, and a towel for Foxy.

"Here, honey. At least dry off a little." Foxy smiled at her, and began drying her hair. She looked over at Fillmore, who was smiling as he watched her dry her hair while he was dripping wet.

"Fillmore, you're all wet again."

"It's all right, man, really." She shook her head and began drying him off with her towel. When she had finished, he rubbed the towel through her hair, insisting that since she had dried him off, he had to return the favor. She voiced her complaints, but secretly was happy when she felt his wheels on her hair. Flo smiled as she watched the two from her café lobby. Mater came over, sopping wet, and Foxy smiled, rubbing him down with the towel also. They stayed there until the rainy day turned into a stormy night. At the sound of thunder in the distance, with nothing but the streetlights on as light sources, Foxy began panicking slightly.

"Fillmore, if it's not too much trouble, could we go back to your home?"

"Sure thing, man." He nodded, and they set out for his dome, trying to dodge the rain but getting wet anyway. They all raced inside, sopping wet again. Foxy looked slightly worried as she heard thunder rumble, and when the thunder rumbled, Mater bolted back into Lightning's cone. Thunder rumbled again even closer, and Foxy began to fidget nervously, shaking.

"Somethin' the matter, man?" Fillmore asked her worriedly. Just as she was about to answer, a loud crack of thunder sounded almost directly overhead, and Foxy yelped, dove under the blanket in the chair, and curled up into a tight ball, hugging her knees to her slightly aching ribs. Fillmore blinked in confusion, and looked up as another loud crack of thunder sounded and Foxy yelped again. "Are ya afraid of thunder, man?" Fillmore asked worriedly.

"Y-Yes!" Foxy exclaimed, ducking back under the blanket as another crack of thunder sounded overhead.

"Hmm..." Fillmore laid down next to the chair, and thought of something he could say to comfort her. Slowly, Foxy crept over to Fillmore's side and curled up underneath the blanket, shaking, pressed against his side. He laid a tire over her gently, and she moved closer. He smiled down at her, and she poked her head out from under the blanket to give him a small, shaky smile.

"Thanks, Fillmore." She whispered, snuggling against his side and wrapping herself more in his blanket. She fell asleep like that, curled up and snuggled against his side with his tire laid over her protectively. He sank down lower to the floor, and fell asleep as well. The next morning, Fillmore woke up first, looking around drowsily out of habit for Foxy, then remembered that she was curled up underneath his tire. He looked down and didn't see her. He used his mirror, and looked around, but didn't see her. Suddenly, he backed up abruptly and found her there, sleeping peacefully, covered in the blanket.

"Whoa, man." He said to himself in surprise. He thought she had gone outside already. He laid back down next to her, draping the wheels on the same side she was over her gently. Her eyelids fluttered open, and she saw Fillmore.

"Morning, Fillmore." she said around a yawn, and he chuckled.

"Mornin', man." She looked at him suspiciously. He seemed way too cheerful this morning, not at all his usual self. She remembered the night before, when she had curled up underneath him when she heard a rumble of thunder.

"Sorry. The thunder freaked me out last night." She apologized, looking down at the blanket.

"It's all good, man. Ya just needed a snuggle was all." He nudged her gently, and she smiled.

"That's right." She said, and stood up, stretching. Once she shook her wavy hair out of her face, she looked up at Fillmore happily.

"What should we do today? I was thinking we could practice more soccer." She said, and Fillmore nodded.

"Sounds groovy, man." Fillmore replied, and followed her out of his dome. They went over to Lightning's cone to ask if Mater had the ball from the other day, and found it empty, but quickly redirected their route over to Flo's, where everyone was gathered.

"Hey, Mater. Do you have that ball from yesterday? I was thinking that we could play with it again, us three." Mater nodded, then dashed inside Lightning's cone. He returned shortly, nudging the ball with his tire, trying to keep it directly in front of him. Foxy giggled and caught the ball as Mater rolled it over to her.

"Thanks, Mater." She replied, high-fiving him. Flo set her daily coffee down next to her with a smile. "Thanks, Flo."

"Sure thing, honey." Foxy leaned against Fillmore's side as she drank her coffee.

"We were wondering if you would be able to watch the triplets tonight, by any chance?" Snot Rod asked, and Foxy smiled.

"Sure. I used to babysit back home all the time. These three should be no sweat." Fillmore gave her a glance, and she giggled. "Okay, maybe not ALL the time, but pretty much of it."

"That's a lot of time." Doc spoke up, and Foxy nodded.

"Yeah, I had to babysit an actual baby, and his sister, who goes to kindergarten. The baby was really cute because he liked to try and bite me." She laughed. "He was such a little monster."

"He sure sounds like it, man." Fillmore replied, and Foxy laughed.

"He was such a sweetheart most of the time though, even if he was biting me. He was like a puppy." Later that night, Foxy arrived at Snot Rod's home and knocked on the door. There was the sounds of three rowdy Barracudas all arguing to get to the door first, and then Snot Rod opened the door. The Barracudas instantly swarmed around Foxy, yelling, talking loudly, and giggling. She laughed with them, then they went inside to look over their bedtimes and what they usually did. "No problem at all." She assured Snot Rod, and smiled as the three all pounced their father goodbye. As soon as he was out the door, they turned to her expectantly. "What do you guys want to do?"

"I want to go outside and play on our playset!"

"I want to watch a movie!"

"I want to play with my stuffed animals!"

"Hmm... How about we go outside for a little while, then we watch a movie while we're playing with your stuffed animals?"

"How comes we can't bring our stuffed animals outside?"

"They might get dirty, and you wouldn't be able to go to sleep with them anymore because they'd be too dirty." Foxy replied with a smile.

"Ohh, okay! Let's go! Pirates! Board the ship!" Paul announced, and Sara and Harry swarmed out the back door, following their brother. They scrambled aboard the pirate ship playset, and Foxy watched them, smiling.

"How about I be the giant squid that wants to attack you?" She offered.

"YEAH!" Came three excited shouts.

"Okay, I'm at your command, Captain." She said, saluting Paul. "Where do you want me?"

"Over there!" Paul pointed, and Foxy moved to her spot.

"Look! It's a giant squid!"

"Harry, you need to talk like a pirate!"

"Oops! Ummm... Ahoy! Giant squid, off the port bow!"

"Shiver me timbers! It IS a giant squid! First mate, fire the cannons!"

"Aye aye, sir!" Sara pretended to load the cannons, then aimed them at Foxy.

"RAWWR!" Foxy roared, trying to make a noise like a giant squid. The kids giggled, then Sara 'launched' the first cannonball at Foxy. It missed, and she crept closer to the boat, roaring.

"Fire two!" Sara exclaimed, aiming the plastic cannon at Foxy. It 'hit' her, and she staggered backwards, roaring angrily.

"We hit it!" "Shoot the harpoon!" Paul called out, and Harry tossed a long piece of string at Foxy, who caught it, then roared in pain. "Pull in our catch!" With that, Harry and Sara began pulling on the string and Foxy moved closer to the boat, letting them pull her in. "Haul it onboard!" Paul bellowed, and Harry and Sara helped Foxy onboard. "Aha! We've captured the brute! Three cheers! Hip Hip!"

"Hooray!"

"Hip Hip!"

"Hooray!"

"Hip Hip!"

"Hooray!"

"Okay, okay you guys. It's getting dark out. Let's go in and watch the movie, okay?"

"YAY! Movie time!" The three stampeded down from the ship, leaving Foxy stuck at the top.

"Hey, wait for me!" She exclaimed, then managed to find her way down. When she had made her way back inside, she found each snuggled with their stuffed animal.

"What movie are we gonna watch?" They asked.

"Let's see what movies you guys have." She told them, and they went to look at the movies.

"This is one of my favorites. At least where I come from it is."

"Let's watch it." They said, and she nodded, putting it into the movie player. They had already turned it on, all she had to do was hit play. "Wait! Can we have popcorn?" They asked.

"Sure. It is a movie, after all." They giggled happily, and went to go make the giant-sized bag of popcorn.

"Come on you guys, it shouldn't take you three that long to make a bag of popcorn." She heard giggling coming from the kitchen, and walked in. There was popcorn scattered across the floor, and it led in a trail over to Harry, who had a large bowl of popcorn on his hood. The other two were busy pouring three bags into three bowls, scattering more onto the floor. "You guys know that we need to clean this up, right?"

"Okay, let's do it!"

"We made you some popcorn." Sara said, holding out a bowl full of popcorn to Foxy.

"Aww, you're darling." Foxy said, smiling at Sara and patting her hood. "Thank you so much, you three."

"Of course!" Came three voices.

"I guess we can watch the movie first, then clean up afterwards." Foxy said, making the three kids cheer and hug her.

"Careful! I'm not a car like you guys, remember?"

"Oops, sorry, Foxy." They said, and hastily let go.

"It's okay you guys, I understand that it's easy to forget about some stuff."

"Like what?" Sara asked.

"Uhh... umm... I forget." Foxy sighed, and the triplets laughed. "Come on, let's go watch the movie." They trooped out into the living room to watch the movie.

**How was that? Seems like Foxy's a favorite among the triplets, huh? And the story she told the others about the two kids she used to babysit actually used to happen to me when I babysat the two of them. :) Catch ya next week, Liz**


	8. Foxy Babysits The Triplets, Part 2

Pretty soon, Paul accidentally threw popcorn at Harry, who exclaimed loudly and threw popcorn back at Paul.

"Hey, come on, you guys, cut it out. Don't make me have to tell your dad."

"Harry, shush! I wanna watch the movie!" Sara said, tossing popcorn over Foxy's back at her brothers, who threw their popcorn back at her.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, throwing the popcorn back at them.

Foxy sighed, watching the kids and the movie."Is it bedtime?" She asked with authority, and they quieted down, watching the movie. "That's better." She smiled and began watching the movie again with them.

Sara threw popcorn at Paul, mouthing, "That's for before." Paul frowned at her, then threw some back her way, accidentally getting Harry.

"Hey, watch it." Harry whispered, throwing some popcorn back at him.

"Boys!" Foxy said sharply, and they paid her no attention, throwing popcorn and insults at each other. Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Foxy answered it to see Fillmore parked there. "Hi, Fillmore." She said with a smile.

"Hey, man. Do ya know that ya have popcorn in your hair?"

"They're having a popcorn fight in here."

"Sounds entertaining, man." Fillmore replied, and couldn't resist chuckling.

"Yeah, they're throwing out some good insults to each other too." Foxy laughed aloud as one of the boys screamed, "BOOGER EATER!"

"I'd better go break that up, before it gets worse. Come on in." Fillmore drove in, shaking his hood in bewilderment. "Boys! That is ENOUGH!"

"SNOT SNIFFER!"

"HARRY! Into your bed! No, first, you and your brother are going to clean this mess up." There was a pause, then Foxy's commanding voice was heard again. "Now, mister, or else I'm going to tell your dad."

"All right, I'm cleaning."

"What was that?"

"I said, 'Okay, Foxy, I'm cleaning.'"

"Much better."

"Sara, if you want to clean up the kitchen, you can do that, there's not too much to do, PAUL! Get back down that ramp and HELP!" Fillmore drove into the room to find the three cleaning without a word, and Foxy handing Sara a dustpan while she held a broom. She swept the popcorn into the dustpan, then thanked Sara for helping clean the kitchen. Sara smiled, then asked if she could go up to bed.

"I wouldn't just yet, I have a feeling that I'm going to be doing a lot of shouting at these two. PAUL! Don't even think of going up that ramp, buster! I want every single piece of popcorn cleaned up!"

Paul muttered something about going to bed, and Foxy replied, "You can go to bed after you and Harry are finished cleaning up your mess. I've already taken the movie out, and put it back. The least you could do is clean up your mess."

Paul sighed, looking at Foxy as though he hadn't slept in days, and she wasn't buying it. "You can throw whatever look you want, you're still going to clean up this mess if I have to bridle you like a horse and FORCE you to clean up!" She looked up at him, her lips pressed into a thin line, her eyes flashing angrily. He nodded, then came back down the ramp without a word and began cleaning up again. "Much better." She told him, then looked over at Harry. "Great job, Harry. You and Sara can go up to bed if you want." She told them, and they smiled at her. She returned their smiles, then wished them a goodnight. "Thank you Paul. Now you may go up to bed. Goodnight." She offered him a smile, and he made a face. "If you're not careful, your face is going to stick that way." She told him, and he instantly dropped the expression.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. Goodnight. Sleep well, you little devil." "Like I said, no sweat." Foxy said, turning to Fillmore."Who am I kidding? I swear, they get wilder at night. They're like Werecars." She sounded exhausted, and Fillmore nudged her gently.

"They ain't gonna be goin' anywhere, man. Do ya wanna go sleep for a while?" Foxy shook her head, smiling.

"Thanks, but no thanks, Fillmore. I gave Brian my word that I'd stay here all night to watch them." Fillmore smiled and laid down, watching as she went from room to room, checking that it was cleaned up. Finally, she crept up into the loft to see that everything was clean. It was a mess, and she began cleaning it silently, not even causing a toy to make the slightest noise. She crept back down the ramp to find Fillmore watching her. She smiled at him, and he asked how she was able to clean so quietly. "Lots and lots of practice." She said, flopping down at his side and leaning up against him. The doors opened and Snot Rod drove inside, grinning at finding Fillmore there.

"Hey, you two. How were they?"

"Besides the popcorn fight, they were great." Foxy replied truthfully.

"Popcorn fights again? Let me guess, insults?"

"My favorites were Booger Eater and Snot Sniffer." She replied smoothly, and Snot Rod laughed.

"Snot Sniffer? That's new. Who used it?"

"Harry. He kind of screamed it at the top of his voice."

"I guess he learned a thing or two from Paul." Foxy laughed, and Fillmore chuckled. "Thanks again for watching them, Foxy. They can be nutzy at night."

"You're telling me!" Foxy exclaimed with a laugh.

"Night you two." Snot Rod smiled a few minutes later as they departed his home.

"Goodnight!" Foxy called, and continued following Fillmore back to his dome. Once she got to her chair, she sank down in it and was asleep in minutes.

"G'night, man." Fillmore said quietly, draping the blanket over her sleeping form. He sank lower to the floor and fell asleep also.

**Not going to lie, this has got to be my favorite part of the entire story! I love it when they start screaming at each other, it's just something two twin boys would do! XD Anyways you might have noticed my new fanfic. If you're into sad stuff, go check it out, 'kay? It's called 'Right Here Waiting'. See ya next weekend, Liz!**


	9. Foxy's Backstory

The next morning, Foxy drowsily felt irregular tugging at her hair. She mumbled in her sleep and swiped a hand through the air. The tugging stopped, but soon started up again. She swiped her hand through the air again, making a slightly irritated sound. The tugging stopped, and she went back to sleep. When she felt it the third time, she bolted upwards out of the chair, ready to scream at her brother for pestering her while she was asleep. Instead, Fillmore backed off from the back of her head, looking guiltily at the floor. "Sorry, man. I was just braidin' it an' pullin' all the popcorn out."

"It's all right, Fillmore. I just thought it was my brother again." She gave him an apologetic smile, which he returned before beginning to braid her hair again. Soon it was finished, and it went down to her waist. "Wow, Fillmore. Where did you learn to braid like that?"

"I taught myself, man." He replied, and she smiled.

"You did a better job then I ever could." She said warmly, and he smiled. They departed his dome for the day, and along the way to Flo's, Foxy spotted a wildflower patch. She smiled and began weaving the flowers into her hair, using the different colors. Fillmore began helping, and by the time they were done, she had a ringlet of flowers woven to look like a flower crown on top of her head. She giggled and thanked him for helping.

"Now ya look like a real flower child, man." Fillmore told her, and she agreed. They began going to Flo's again, and arrived shortly.

"You braided your hair." Lightning said, not noticing the flowers that were woven through the braid as well as on her head.

"Actually Fillmore did. I just put in some of the flowers." Foxy replied, blushing slightly. Sarge arrived, took one look at Foxy, and scowled.

"Great. Another hippie." He said darkly.

"Hey, remember a few days ago when I put you in your place? I can do it again just as easy." She threatened, scowling back. Sarge threw her a dirty look, then fell silent except for muttering darkly into his coffee.

"Excuse me, what was that? I didn't quite catch it." She asked sweetly, although her expression was anything but sweet.

"I said 'fat chance'." Sarge hissed through tightly gritted teeth.

"Well, I'm as thin as a twig, so good luck with that." She shot back, making the others laugh. Sarge uttered a growl and dove at her.

"That's it, you!" The others all gasped as she dodged him at the last second.

"Sarge!" Sarge ignored their angry shouts and charged after her, at least until she swung onto Lizzie's roof. She sat down cautiously, then looked down at him triumphantly. He sneered up at her, his engine growling his hatred of her. She stuck her tongue out at him, and made him even madder.

"You've got to come down sometime! And when you do, I'll be ready for you!" He exclaimed, almost bouncing into the air in his rage, and the others looked at one another worriedly. How would she be able to eat if Sarge would try to attack her every time she climbed down? She discovered the tree behind Lizzie's, and looked at Sarge cautiously. The tree looked dead, and looked as though it could only take one hit, then tip. She'd have to risk it. She climbed cautiously into the tree, trying not to snap any branches. She made her way silently until she had a good vantage point of Sarge pacing in front of Lizzie's. She heard Doc call to Sarge.

"Sarge, leave her be. She was perfectly happy until you charged her."

"She was purposely taunting me! You heard her the other day, and you heard her today!"

"She wasn't taunting you any more then she was taunting one of us. Now let her get down."

She heard Sarge huff a sigh, then saw him drive back into his surplus hut. 'What a whiner. That wasn't taunting.' She thought before swinging over to the sign, and climbing down. The others were expecting her to jump down from the roof, but when she climbed down from the sign, they were amazed.

"How'd you get all the way over there, man?"

"Easy. I can climb trees really well, so I just jumped into the tree, climbed over to the sign as quietly as possible, then climbed down it."

"Sorry about him."

"I've dealt with worse on a daily basis. Besides, it's fun 'taunting him'. He thinks that was taunting? Then he doesn't even know me at all." The others laughed as she sat back down with her back leaning against Fillmore, her flower braid hanging over her shoulder.

"You should be more careful next time because of your ribs."

"Okay, dad." She replied sarcastically, then laughed to show Doc that she was teasing.

"Speakin' of your folks, ain't they worried about ya, man?" Ramone looked her way curiously.

"My mom probably is. My dad... well, my dad's gone." The others all wore expressions of pity as they understood what she was saying.

"Sorry 'bout that, man." "Don't be sorry, Fillmore. It happened years ago. He's probably happier now." She offered him a smile, which he returned sadly. "He was a great guy. Max is his Corvette, or, at least he was... until he came here."

"How did you guys get here, anyways?" Lightning asked, and the others turned to her.

"It's kind of a long story."

"We've got time, honey." Flo replied, pushing a coffee towards her.

"Thanks, Flo, and okay. This is over on the east coast of my world, so it's three hours later there. Anyway, it was about five in the afternoon, I was watching the clouds roll by, like I usually do. My mom was home from work, my brother was off doing who-knows-what, and I sat up when it got dark about three hours later, at eight. I walked across my driveway, and opened the garage door that wasn't already open, which is the side that my dad kept Max. He kept him behind a cardboard kind of 'fence', so we couldn't touch him when we were little. I moved the cardboard aside, and remembered how my mom said that she wanted to sell Max, and I couldn't bear to hear that. It broke my heart, because my dad loved Max, and I had almost nothing else to remember him by." She took a sip of her coffee, and the others all watched her sadly.

"Then what?" Lightning asked.

"Then I stood there and looked at him for a few minutes, went to go fold the blanket I had been lying on, put it back, and looked into the night sky. I saw a star shoot across the sky, and since there was nobody around, I said my wish aloud. I know, silly right? But I must have said something, like the 'magic word' or something, because the next thing I knew, there was this thick blue haze around me, I couldn't see, then a few minutes later, I was where Fillmore found me." She finished up her story, then took another drink from her coffee.

"And yet, coming from a world where cars aren't alive, you seem to have blended in very well."Doc commented, and Foxy nodded.

"That's because I'm already halfway crazy with some of the stuff I do at home, so no big deal really." She replied, laughing.

"Like what?"

Foxy held her dog collar up. "Not too many people wear one of these back home. I'm constantly getting asked, 'Why do you have a dog collar on?' It's getting old really. Then I always explain how it's part of the club I'm in."

"What club is that?" Sheriff asked.

Foxy face-palmed herself lightly, covering her eyes."Oh, brother." She sighed, then replied, "That's the other question I get a lot. Anime club. It's Japanese animation. You know, like Japanese cartoons?"

"Sounds tough to draw."

"Yeah, especially since I can't draw to save my life. My artworks usually are made up of stick people." She laughed.

"If you don't draw, then what do you do?"

"Oh, we watch Animes, they're-"

"Japanese cartoons. We've got that."

"Okay, just making sure, because some people have no clue what it is, even after I tell them. Then there's Manga, which are kind of Japanese comic books, only you read them from right to left, not left to right."

"That's weird."

"Yeah, but it's kind of nice. I read regular books all the time, and I like a change."

"Have you ever read one of those 'manga' books-"

"-Backwards? I sure have. I didn't understand the story at all until I realized that it was supposed to go the other way." She laughed. "Then there are what's called 'Furries'. That's me. What a Furry is, pretty much is an anthromorphic animal, mostly dogs, cats, wolves, or in my case-"

"A fox." Lightning said.

"Right. So we wear collars to show the world that we're Furries! Some people even clip tails to their jeans and ears in their hair, or wear a hat with ears on it, or a headband, to try to show people what they're supposed to look like in Furryland." She smiled.

"Why ain't you got any tail, or ears, dude?" DJ asked.

"I never had enough money to buy some. It's all right. They'd probably get in the way, anyhow." Thunder snorted in disgust, and Foxy laughed. "Sorry Thunder. I meant they would get in MY way if I wore them. Besides, I have a flower crown. I'm amazing!" She exclaimed triumphantly, making the others laugh.

"Flower power, man." Fillmore replied, and Foxy giggled.

"Thanks, Fillmore. So that's how I got here. Any more questions?"

"That was a question." Lightning pointed out, grinning devilishly.

"You jerk. You know what I meant."

"All right, I've got one. Do you like racing?"

"Sure. Jeff Gordon's my favorite driver."

"Who?" "Jeff Gordon. You know, number 24?"

"Never heard of him."

"Here." Foxy pulled out her wallet and produced a Jeff Gordon trading card. She showed it to Lightning. "This is Jeff Gordon."

"Eh, I've seen better drivers."

"He's my favorite." She said, smiling happily. She carefully tucked the card back into her wallet, and stuck her wallet in her back jeans pocket. She sat back down at Fillmore's side and continued drinking her coffee.

**Very 'boring' in my opinion, I just wanted to explain my story a little more. This is the basis of who I am. The Japanese stuff, her father being dead, everything. It's all taken from my life. And Jeff Gordon is my favorite NASCAR driver, although I like Lewis Hamilton in Formula one (He's so cute with the gap in his teeth! *SQUEE*). If you have any questions about anything, feel free to PM me. I'd be more then happy to explain some more what a furry is. :) Check ya later, Liz**


	10. Foxy's Next Disaster

Thunder laid at her side, wanting to be petted. She scratched his back, and he rolled over onto his back, pawing at her hand gently. "All right, all right." She sighed, then began scratching his belly gently, giggling as one of his back paws began kicking. Suddenly, he sneezed, and Foxy recoiled away from the flying snot, laughing. "Bless you!" He rolled over and sneezed again, then laid his muzzle in her lap. "Bless you, again." She told him, petting his head gently as his tail thumped the ground.

"You sure do like dogs." Lightning commented, and Foxy nodded.

"They're my passion, although I like most animals, except for insects. They freak me out."

Sarge, who was just exiting his hut, heard her, and quickly drove back inside, formulating a plan to show her who was in charge, as far as he was concerned. He wore a sinister grin on his bumper as he finished his plan. He ordered a crate full of insects, and was told that it would get there in about a day. He wasn't afraid of handling insects, so his plan consisted of setting them all over her, and watching the satisfying results. Right on schedule, they arrived in a large box, all kinds. From spiders to centipedes, there must've been at least fifty. He chuckled as the spiders formed webs in their plastic container. "This is going to be TOO easy." He said in a low voice, then hid the whole box. Little did he know, there was a hole in the spiders' container, and one by one, they crawled out, making their way towards their intended target.

Foxy was sitting at Fillmore's side, as usual, talking with the others and petting Thunder as she drank her morning coffee. She had one hand at her side, setting on the pavement, while the other one was petting Thunder and holding her coffee. One of the spiders from Sarge's escaped group crawled onto her hand, and she didn't feel it at first. When she did, she stiffened, shooting up until she was as straight as a board."Wh-What's on my hand?"

"Spider." Sheriff replied, and cringed as she let loose a shrill scream, and bolted blindly for the road, just as Mack was driving towards the café. He spotted her, and tried to brake, blaring his horn, but he rammed into her, sending her flying. The others were horrified, and Lightning tore after her. He caught her safely on his hood when she landed and sprawled like a sack of potatoes.

"Are you all right?" He asked her worriedly, looking her over for any injuries.

"M-my ribs." She whispered weakly, then fainted.

"Is she all right?"

"I think she messed up her ribs again."

Doc rolled forwards and told Lightning to bring her over to the clinic. They departed for the clinic, leaving the others to worry about their new friend.

"It's all my fault." Mack said, looking down at his hood guiltily.

"No it isn't, Mack. She doesn't like insects, and just got scared when there was a spider on her. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Sally told him gently.

"And lucky that you weren't going any faster then the speed limit." Sheriff cut in, and instantly regretted what he said. He fell silent, and returned to drinking his coffee, leaving Mack to his guilty thoughts. He had just hit someone. She wasn't even a citizen of the town, and he had hit her. He closed his eyes in shame as the scene played over in his mind.

Over in the clinic, Doc had dismissed Lightning and was now working feverishly. Foxy had broken three of her ribs between Mack hitting her and her landing on Lightning's hood. Once he had set her ribs, he wrapped gauze around them, then rolled outside.

"How is she?" Flo asked worriedly.

"She should be all right, but she'll be aching for a long time. Red, could she stay with you?" Red nodded, and Fillmore looked over at Doc, confused.

"If ya don't mind me askin, man, why does she have to stay with Red?"

"I don't want Sarge and her fighting until her ribs are fully healed." Doc replied, and the others sighed in relief.

A short while later, Foxy awoke on the lift again, and groaned. "Ohh, man, I feel like I was hit by a truck." She moaned. She hard a chuckle from somewhere nearby, then Doc's reply floated up to her.

"I hope you would, since that's what happened."

"I was hit by a TRUCK?!" She exclaimed in horror.

"Lightning's hauler, Mack."

"I'll bet I broke some bones on that deal." She said, and Doc could hear the sarcasm in her voice. He chuckled.

"Three of your ribs."

"My ribs. Why is it always my ribs? And there goes my record for never breaking a single bone, too. What a GREAT day." She said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Doc lowered the lift, and Foxy sat up unsteadily.

"You're going to be staying with Red until your ribs heal, simply because I don't want Sarge attacking you again."

"All right. That sounds great." She offered a small smile, then got off the lift and followed Doc outside.

"Are you okay? I'm mighty sorry that I hit ya." Mack apologized, looking down at her guiltily.

"I'm okay, and it's all right. Not even I knew where I was running." She smiled up at him weakly, and Fillmore came up from behind her and nudged her gently.

"Ya sure you're okay, man?"

"My ribs do ache a little, but yeah, I'm all right." She sank down to sit by his side, and Thunder came over to her cautiously, whining. "Oh, not you too. I'm fine, really." She told him, petting his side. He laid down next to her and set his head in her lap, gradually moving his position so his front half of his body was laying over her legs. She giggled weakly, and petted him.

"Don't try to sit in my lap, or else you'll squish me." She told him, and he licked her face, his tail wagging. "Blegh, thanks for slobbering all over me." She told him, and he licked her face repeatedly, until she was flat on her back and he was sitting at her side. She tried to shield herself, giggling, but it was no use. The others all watched, chuckling.

"Okay, okay. I get the point. I taste good! Can I get up before you drown me?" The others all laughed as Thunder backed off after a final lick. She wiped the dog slobber off her face, then shot him an evil look. "Is my bath finished?" He barked, wagging his tail rapidly, and Foxy snickered. "You are such a screwball." She moaned softly, rubbing her ribs gingerly.

**Hi everybody! Here we are again, with the continuation of this story! :D In case you haven't noticed, Foxy's a bit of a klutz! That comes directly from me. I've gotten so many bumps and bruises I don't even know how they happen. The funny thing is, I've never broken a bone, like Foxy hadn't, at least up until this point. :P Anyway, EmilyTheBrave, thanks! I'm glad you don't think this chapter was boring, and some of your friends wear tails too? Awesome! Now, another matter, one that's much more serious: I may be leaving for college in July, and this story is saved on my home computer. My laptop is the one that's coming with me. I've also got numerous stories typed up on the home computer, and was wondering if you guys wanted me to put those ones up too? I'll tell you in the summaries when they're taking place. :) Let me know what you think, and please read, review, and don't steal? Thanks, Liz **

**Love you guys! :D**

**Edit:Changed one thing, before it looked like Mater licked Foxy. XD Now it says what it should: THUNDER licked Foxy.**


	11. Sleepover at Red's

Nobody noticed the dark, black storm clouds coming their way later that night, at least not until the power went out. Foxy looked up as the power went out, then huddled closer to Fillmore, even though the night was warm. He looked down at her worriedly, and asked what was wrong.

"I just got a little cold, that's all." She said, and he smiled before returning to sipping his drink calmly while the others were racing around, switching their headlights on and trying to figure out why the power suddenly went out. Thunder and Foxy bolted up at the exact same time when they heard the first rumble of thunder. Thunder shot towards Mater's without a sound, and Foxy shot towards Fillmore's without a second thought. Red stopped her mid-charge with his siren, and she remembered that she had just broken three ribs, which were now aching went back to Red, giggling timidly as she looked up at him. He smiled kindly and nudged her gently, then nodded back towards the courthouse.

"Sure, Red. Thanks." She offered him a smile before falling asleep at his side, curled up as best as she could while she pressed against his side. The others chuckled, and Red gently nudged her up with a tire. She staggered to her feet, then slumped against Red's side as she nearly fell asleep again on her feet. He pulled out of Flo's, driving slowly as he guided the half-asleep Foxy back to the firehouse. As soon as she was safely inside, she laid down next to Red, cuddling up to his side. He smiled, then placed a tire over her gently as she fell asleep. He looked around for his pillow, then carefully lifted her up onto it, nudging it until it was perfect. He laid down again in between her and the door as though protecting her.

The next morning, he awoke to find himself snuggled up to Foxy, who was curled around his bumper, still lying on the pillow, sleeping. He smiled, then backed away from her as slowly as possible, trying not to wake her up. She curled up and slept on, and he uttered a quiet sigh, then drove outside, stretching and yawning. He drove over to Flo's and ordered Foxy a coffee, blushing at Flo's, "That's mighty sweet of you, Red." He nodded, still blushing slightly, then drove back to the firehouse. He opened the door quietly, and saw Foxy still sleeping. He set the coffee down on a table, and laid back down beside his pillow.

Foxy woke up about a half an hour later, blinking sleepily and yawning. Red turned around from stirring in the painkillers Doc had given him for Foxy into her coffee, and smiled at her. She returned his smile, and gingerly stood up, then hobbled over towards him.

"My foot's asleep." She told him when a look of concern passed over his face. His expression brightened, and he shyly pushed the coffee towards her.

"Thanks, Red." She gave him a smile, which was returned with a gentle nuzzle and a quiet purr from his engine.

"You boys are all so sweet." She giggled before patting him and beginning to drink her coffee. He smiled bashfully at her, but she could tell he was extremely pleased.

"I didn't get a chance to look at your flowers last night. Can we go see them?" He nodded eagerly, and opened the door. The two blinked in the bright sunlight, then went over to the Stanley statue.

"They're like nothing I've ever seen before." She said softly, curving her hand under one of the blossoms and touching the petals as carefully and gently as if they were made of glass. Red blushed, and scuffed one of his tires at a pebble.

"They shouldn't be growing in a tire, although it does look nice." She smiled. "Do you have any old metal buckets around?" He nodded with a smile, then nodded his front end over towards the side of the building.

"Are they in the back?" His smile grew bigger, and he nodded.

"All right, this is going to be fun! I love gardening!"She laughed, and he raised a tire. She high-fived him, giggling, then they went to get the aluminum buckets.

They brought the large buckets to the front, Foxy rolling them as best as she could on their sides. She set hers upright, and the transplanting began.

Fillmore stopped by to see Foxy, and found her digging in the dirt. She looked up as he approached, and he chuckled. She was covered in dark reddish dirt from head to foot, and couldn't have looked more pleased about it.

"Me and Red are putting his flowers in these buckets to give it a rustic sort of feel." She explained. Red nodded from where he was lovingly taking one of the flowers out of the tire and placing it gingerly in the bucket full of soil.

"Far out, man." Fillmore replied, and Foxy giggled.

"Ya know you're covered in dirt, man?" Fillmore asked her, and she nodded.

"That's the best part!" She smiled, then laughed. "Right, Red?" Red looked up, saw how dirty she was, and laughed silently. He raised his hose, and she nodded. He turned on a gentle stream of water, and held the hose over her head. "Brrr, is that cold!" She laughed once she was soaking wet, and all the dirt was gone.

"Thanks, Red." She gave him a smile, then a hug. Red smiled back, gave her a friendly nuzzle, then began to water his plants. Foxy turned to Fillmore, still sopping wet. "How about a hug?" She teased, and didn't wait for an answer. She hugged him as well, and earned another friendly nuzzle. She pulled back from Fillmore, and wrung her hair out, then put it up in a low bun. "That should make it nice and wavy." She said approvingly. "We did a good job, Red." She said, looking over their handiwork.

There were four buckets, each holding two plants. One would grow to cover the soil in the buckets loosely, then hang down the sides of the buckets. The other was one of Red's coneflowers, placed in a different spot in all four buckets.

Red nodded, then looked up curiously. Foxy followed his gaze and saw Mater. She smiled, and Mater's tow hook wagged even more then it already was.

"Hey, Mater." She greeted him, and he drove over to her with a "Howdy, Foxy." and a smile.

"What are you up to today?" She asked him, setting her hand on his fender.

He snickered quietly, then said, "That there's a surprise, Foxy." He seemed to be listening to something, then turned back to her. "I'll see ya later, maybe, Foxy." He smiled, gave her hair a friendly ruffling, then drove back towards Flo's.

"He must be entertaining the triplets again." She shook her head in amusement. Fillmore nudged her gently, and she turned to face him, looking up at him curiously. "What's up, Fillmore?"

"I was just wonderin' if ya wanted to go see tonight's movie, man." Fillmore replied, and Foxy giggled.

"Which one is it?"

"Some movie about a car that's haunted, man."

"Ohh, sounds cool. Sure, I'd love to go." She offered him a smile, then turned to Red. "Is that all right, dad?"

He nodded, laughing silently. She laughed with him, then took her hair almost all the way out of the bun, leaving it in a long, loose ponytail.

"Hey, Red, now that we're finished gardening, do you want to go to Flo's?" Red nodded, and the three left the front of the firehouse, going up the street towards Flo's. They arrived shortly, and, Foxy sat down, leaning against Fillmore again.

"Feeling all right?" Doc asked.

"I'm all right." She smiled, greeting the others afterwards.

It wasn't long before she felt a tire on the back of her head, petting her hair gently. She tried not to laugh, and pretended that she didn't notice. Fillmore continued absentmindedly petting her hair, thinking that she hadn't noticed. He hadn't been able to resist the softness of her hair, no matter what he tried. He was deep in thought, staring off into space, stroking her hair slowly, thinking about rabbit fur, when Lightning laughed loudly. He snapped back to the present, and blinked two or three times.

"What's so funny, man?"

"You're petting her like she's a dog, Fillmore." Lightning replied, snickering. Fillmore looked over at Foxy, and sure enough, she was hunched low to the ground from the weight of his wheel as he petted her hair. The others laughed, and he removed his wheel hastily. She sat up straight, grinning.

**Hey everyone! I decided to bring Red into the story more. I really should have him in here even more, he seems like such a sweetheart. :) And huzzah! Mater's in here! Anyways, I'm going to start uploading even more stories, the first one will be uploaded after this one for now, but more regularly Friday nights. I'll tell you the time frame in the summary, according to Foxy's arrival (She came in about two years after the movie.) Anyways, look for my new story, starring the triplets, Harry, Sara, and Paul! :D Read, review, and don't steal, please? See you in my next story, Liz**


	12. The Drive-In & The Waterfall

"Sorry 'bout that, man." He apologized, and she laughed slightly.

"Geez, Fillmore. I know my hair is like bunny fur, but I'm not exactly a bunny." She teased, making the others laugh.

"How soft IS your hair?"

"Like bunny fur, and Fillmore obviously thinks so too." She added with a wry grin in Fillmore's direction. Sheriff hesitantly reached over and stroked her hair gently with a tire, and drew back.

"She's right. I reckon it does feel like bunny fur." With that said, he resumed petting Foxy's hair.

"Come on, you guys gotta try this." Harry said after experimentally petting her hair also. A few minutes later, Luigi, who had been petting her hair for at least three minutes, experimentally tugged on her hair gently. She yelped sharply in pain, and turned around.

"Hey, that hurt!"

"Luigi's-a very sorry. Luigi was-a just making sure it-a wasn't a dream." He told her guiltily, and she giggled.

"Of course my hair isn't a dream! It's attached to my head, Luigi!" Lightning was next, and he hesitantly rubbed his wheel through her hair. His eyes grew wide, and he kept petting her head.

"This is so soft, it's better then bunny fur."

"Okay, thanks, that's great. Now could you stop, please? You're not exactly being very gentle." Foxy pleaded, and Lightning blushed a deep red.

"Sorry. Hmm..." He hesitantly scratched her head, and heard her sigh quietly.

"Why?" She asked, and he didn't answer for a little.

"I'm not exactly sure. Thunder likes it, I thought you would too."

"It does feel relaxing..." He laughed, then patted her head before backing away.

"Anyone else? That way I can just take my ponytail out, since you guys keep messing it up." She teased. She felt a tire running through her hair again, and sighed, taking her ponytail out.

"Now it won't get as messy." Fillmore replied, petting her hair again.

"Why was I so sure you were doing the petting, Fillmore?" The others chuckled, and Fillmore shrugged.

"I dunno. You got eyes underneath all your hair?" He asked suspiciously, and she burst out laughing.

"Fillmore, if I had eyes underneath all this hair, I'd be an alien, not a human."

A few hours later, when she was tired of being stroked and petted like a Persian cat, she turned around to face Fillmore. "Haha! Now I'm not your pet bunny anymore!" She announced triumphantly.

Fillmore reached up and ruffled her bangs with a tire, then replied, "Ya still are, man."

She sighed, then replied, "Crap." Sheriff began petting the back of her head, and she sighed in defeat. "Anyone else want to come pet the human?" She mocked, and Lightning started forward before Sally stopped him with a glare. DJ hesitantly came over and began petting her timidly, as though unsure if she was going to snap at him, like Thunder when he accidentally petted him too hard. Thunder laid his head down next to Lightning, watching the others pet Foxy with a bored look in his eyes. 'I know how you feel.' said Foxy's expression as she looked at him.

"Thunder looks bored, and I'm being petted at the moment. Anyone else want to pet him?" Lightning began petting Thunder, who sighed happily. Between Fillmore ruffling and gently petting her bangs, DJ petting the sides, and Sheriff petting the back of her hair, she really felt like she was a Persian cat.

"Hey, man, move over. Save some petting for the rest of us." Wingo complained, shoving DJ out of the way to begin petting Foxy none too roughly.

"Hey! Watch it!" She complained, and Wingo was instantly shoved aside by Brian, who began petting her hair gently, although there was a repetitive action to it that made Foxy sleepy. She sat there, eyelids drooping, but was instantly jolted awake by Boost, who was petting her in uneven, choppy, quick strokes that made her wince in pain when he hit a snag every few seconds. "Okay, okay, OKAY." She almost shouted after a particularly painful session of petting with Wingo and Boost. "You four-" She pointed at Snot Rod, Wingo, DJ, and Boost, then reconsidered. "Okay, you three-" She gestured at Boost, DJ, and Wingo. "Don't know how to pet anything, at all. I suggest you learn on a dog or cat before petting a human."

"Ain't it just movin' your wheel down their back?"

"No. Not at all. You've got to be gentle, and you can't press down too hard or whatever you're petting will turn around and try to bite your wheel off." As if on cue, Fillmore began petting her bangs gently, flattening them down so she couldn't see through them. "Fillmore!" She giggled, and lost her composure. "I'm just glad one of you guys knows how to pet an animal." Foxy said, looking sideways at Brian, who grinned.

"I grew up with a dog, which of course, is the one thing I don't get a sneezing fit over." He petted Thunder, who wagged his tail. He moved closer to his friend, wanting to be petted, and began dozing, snoring quietly as he usually did.

"Wait, what's today?"

"Friday. Why?"

"I've been here for five days, haven't I?" Doc nodded, and was surprised to hear Foxy sigh miserably.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm missing a whole week of school."

"Don't kids usually hate school because they have to learn things?" Lightning asked, and Foxy nodded.

"Yeah, but this year, all my classes were fun, unless you count swimming. And math." She replied, and Lightning looked even more confused.

"Why don't you like swimming?"

"My teacher is point-blank THE WORST, and will most likely give me detention for the rest of the marking period because I missed a whole five days."

"You're right. That is pretty mean." Lightning said, nodding in agreement.

"If you'd like to go swimming, there's a waterfall near Wheel Well." Sally replied, and Foxy smiled.

"Thanks, but where is Wheel Well exactly?"

"Leave that to me, man." Fillmore replied suddenly, and Foxy looked up at him, slightly weirded out.

"All right..." She replied, and leaned against him again.

That night, the duo went to the movie theater, and Foxy was surprised to see the others as well. They called out greetings, and she returned them, Fillmore driving alongside her. They stopped in the back row, then settled in to watch the screen, which was projecting a load of static at the moment. With Ramone working the projector, the movie soon started playing, and the crowd grew quiet.

The screen went to a faded black, and the sound of a car starting up was heard. George Thorogood's 'Bad To The Bone' began playing, and across the screen appeared the word 'Christine' in red letters. Underneath that was the director, whose name was John Carpenter. Foxy loved this movie, and she snuggled against Fillmore's side to watch. A spinning fan, dusty air, and faded sunlight in the background of the scene opened the movie towards the ceiling of a factory, and the view panned downwards to reveal that it was a car factory. At the bottom right-hand corner in white letters was a date. It read, "Detroit, 1957."

There was a line of off-white Plymouth Furys running down the assembly line, brand new. All except for one. Bright, sparkling new, the color of a freshly picked apple with a white stripe going along its sides, a white roof, and brand new whitewall tires, it was an intimidating sight. The shot changed to the red car's fins, which were sexily curved at the start, and chopped off abruptly, parallel with the trunk of the car, and the back bumper. A man lifted the hood of the red car, looking around under it at the engine.

Suddenly, the hood of the red car came down on the man's hand, which he had carelessly set down on the top of the grille. The music cut off abruptly, and the man screamed in pain. The dismissal bell rang for all the workers, just after the man was escorted out of the factory by another coworker. One stayed behind, seeing the red car. He wandered over, and opened the driver's side door, stepping in easily. He shut the door, and smoking a cigar, turned the radio on. A fifties rock and roll song jumped out of the speakers, and he reclined against the bench seat, which was just as red as the outside of the car. He thought nothing of it as he dropped a thick cigar ash on the seat.

The factory manager came out to the assembly line, checking on the progress, and soon heard the music. He turned around, and saw the red car. He walked back towards it, looking in the windows and seeing no one. He opened the door, and the cigar-smoker slid out of the car, apparently dead, the cigar still in his mouth.

"Oh, shit!" The manager exclaimed in shock, and pressed down on the horn ring repeatedly, honking for help.

The scene changed to a suburb, and at the bottom right-hand corner appeared the words, "Libertyville, 1978." A dark blue 1968 Dodge Charger 500 pulls up into a tree-shaded driveway, blaring loud rock and roll music.

As the movie wore on, Foxy noticed something. Her and Fillmore were the last ones in the back row, which was filled with nothing but couples. Flo and Ramone were parked at the other end, next to them were Lightning and Sally, and there was her and Fillmore. She fleetingly wondered if he thought they were dating, then decided that she didn't care. This was one of her favorite movies, and she was going to enjoy it with her newfound best friend. She snuggled closer to Fillmore, and he glanced down at her with a smile before returning his attention to the movie.

By the time the movie was over, she was shivering lightly, since it was nearly midnight, and cold. She was also shaking because of the excitement the movie caused. She loved the Plymouth Fury because of the book, and the movie in her opinion was pretty good too.

"C'mon, man. The movie's over." Fillmore said quietly, nudging her gently. He felt her shaking, and gently pressed against her, trying to warm her up sufficiently enough so she would stand up. She gave him a smile, then looked up at his roof, thinking, she looked back to his eyes, then back up to his roof. "What's wrong, man?" Fillmore asked, confused.

"I was just thinking, since we're going to go swimming at a waterfall, do you make a good diving board?" She giggled, then stood up. "Just kidding, Fillmore." She assured him, then they left the drive-in.

They followed the road out to Tailfin Pass, and up to Wheel Well, where they stopped, looking out at the town at night. "Woow. It's so pretty up here." Fillmore nodded, and smiled as he felt her lean against his side as she usually did. He didn't know it, but Foxy felt some kind of a spark between the two of them as they rested there together. It was more then just friendship, but wasn't enough to be a relationship. It was more of a brother-sister relationship.

They sat there for a while, then Foxy stood up. "Where's this waterfall at, then?"

"We passed it, man."

"We did? Then let's go back and find it!" Foxy replied, obviously eager to start swimming. Fillmore chuckled, then switched on his headlights. He led the way back to the waterfall, which was thundering, even at night.

"Is there a way down?"

"Besides jumpin'? Nope."

"Figures." With that, she stood at the edge of the bridge, looking down at the water, which was reflecting a full moon. "Here I go." She said, not jumping. "Get ready." She told him, still not jumping.

"I'll push ya in, man." Fillmore teased, and Foxy gave him a horrified look.

"You wouldn't dare!" She exclaimed, and Fillmore drove closer, and nudged her gently, she tottered on the edge, her arms flailing wildly. Fillmore nudged her again, this time a little more roughly, sending her over the edge.

"FILLMOREEE!" Her shriek floated up to him, and he chuckled.

**Hi you guys! Sorry for the late update, I was as busy as Lightning today! Anyways, it's up, and I hope you enjoyed this extra-long chapter to make up for my lateness. :) See ya next Friday, Liz**


	13. Red Learns To Swim

"How's the water, man?" He asked when he heard her gasping for breath.

"It's FREEZING COLD!"

She shrieked, and he called down, "All right, hang on. Move outta the way."

"Why? What're you going to do?"

"Would ya just do it?" He heard splashing, then her voice floated up to him.

"All right, I'm out of the way. Now are you going to tell me what you're planning on doing?"

"CANNONBALL, MAN!" He shouted, and jumped off the bridge.

"OHGOD!" Foxy screamed, struggling to get out of the way of the giant wave she knew would be coming. Fillmore landed in the water, and sent a giant wave her way. She ducked underneath the water, holding her breath, and thought she saw lights. She popped her head up, and saw Fillmore, laughing, a few feet away from her.

"Right on, man!"

"Fillmore!" She exclaimed, splashing water at him playfully. He splashed her back, drenching her again. She shook her head, getting her soggy hair out of her eyes, then set her expression.

"It's on now." She and Fillmore began splashing each other as fast as they could, laughing and shouting nonsense. She tackled him as best as she could, scrambling onto his roof, which was slippery from the water. He looked up as she looked down, making her laugh.

"Here I am." She somersaulted off his roof into the water, and began flipping in the water.

"Hey, how'd ya get so good at stuff like that, man?"

"I've got a pool at home, although it doesn't have a waterfall." She giggled, then swam over to the waterfall, the water drenching her and moving her hair in front of her face, so she couldn't see. She heard the sounds of splashing get closer, then a tire brushing her sopping wet hair out of her face. She opened her eyes, and saw Fillmore, smiling down at her.

"We should get the others and play Marco Polo." She said, jumping back into the water. Fillmore followed her lead, and soon caught up.

"Yeah, we totally should, man."

"How do cars swim?" She asked suddenly.

"Simple, man. We just float most of the time."

"Ohh, that makes so much sense." A few hours later, the two got out and shook themselves off as best as they could. Foxy began shaking anyways from the freezing night air, and Fillmore looked guilty.

"Sorry, man."

"What're you sorry for? I was the one who wanted to go swimming."

"Yeah, but I pushed ya in."

"I would've jumped soon enough!" She exclaimed, playfully shoving Fillmore.

He chuckled. "Whatever ya say, man." Foxy laughed with him, then they quieted down as they reached the town. "G'night, Elizabeth."

"Good night, Fillmore. And my nickname's Foxy, remember?" She asked with a smile.

"Yeah, 'course I do. It's just most brothers and sisters use their real names most of the time, man."

"Really? I never knew that."

"Now ya do, man." He gave her a gentle nuzzle, and she smiled.

"See you in the morning, Fillmore." She said, gently letting her hand rest just above his 'VW' symbol.

"Catch ya on the flipside." He agreed, then reversed, watching her go safely inside Red's before turning around and heading back to his dome.

The next morning, gentle nudging at her side told her it was time to get up. She drowsily waved a hand at the nudging, mumbling, "Five more minutes." The nudging continued, and she groaned, then rolled over. The sharp blast of a horn startled her awake, and she bolted straight up, babbling indiscernibly, her head whipping back and forth. Finally, when she had calmed down enough, she found Red, cowering in the corner.

"I'm not mad, Red. You just startled me." Red offered a small smile, then pointed towards the door. She opened the door, and was instantly thrown backwards as she was pounced. Expecting to land on the ground, hard, she landed on something soft. She spluttered as something wrapped itself around her entire body. Whatever had pounced her backed off, and she saw that it was Mater.

"Thanks for the wake-up." She yawned, and he laughed. He began tugging on her sweatshirt, trying to pull her outside. She got to her feet, and let herself be tugged out into the sunlight. "Mater, why'd you get me up this early?" She moaned, wanting to sleep. At last, when Mater let her go, she sat down.

"Mornin', man." Fillmore chuckled.

"Morning? I'm still sleeping." She complained, making the others laugh.

"Here, honey."

"Thanks, Flo." She replied around a large yawn, then took a sip. She sighed happily, then leaned against Fillmore's side. He smiled, then told her that they were going swimming again today.

"We are?" She asked, slightly more alert.

"Yeah, man." What Fillmore didn't tell her was that he had told everyone about her Marco Polo idea, and they agreed. Foxy and Fillmore led the way to the waterfall, finding where they had exited the water at. She took off her sweatshirt, then jumped in, diving under the water. She popped back up quickly, shooting a few feet into the air.

"That's COLD!" she exclaimed shrilly, making the others laugh. Fillmore made his way into the water, and was instantly scrambled onto by Foxy. "Rawr, I got you now!" she laughed, and he leaned sideways, sending her tumbling into the water.

"Not anymore, man." He replied, and she giggled. Lightning charged into the water, then splashed Sally playfully, making her chase after him, trying to splash him back. Mater charged into the water next, laughing. He swam over to Foxy, who hugged him. She swam under the waterfall again, getting drenched.

"Stickers, no!" Sally laughed as Lightning drenched her. The five children jumped into the water, one after the other. Red hung back, watching Foxy longingly. She noticed his expression, then swam over to him.

"Come on in, Red. The water's great." Red shook his front end sadly, then looked sullenly at the ground.

"What's wrong, Red?" She got out, then sat at his side. She gently placed her hand on his side, and felt him lean against her.

"Could I guess what's wrong?" He nodded, and she began firing off guesses.

"Are you afraid it's going to be freezing cold?" He shook his cab 'no'.

"Are you afraid that something's going to attack you?" Another no.

"Are you afraid of drowning?" He frowned and shook his cab, then seemed to be thinking. He shook his cab again, and Foxy tried again.

"Can't you swim?" Red shook his cab 'yes', and Foxy smiled.

"I can help you with that." Red blushed and looked down, scuffing a tire through the sandy shoreline.

"I mean it, Red. Besides, you're taller then me, so you should be able to learn really fast." He blushed, but followed after her anyways. She walked into the water until it came up to about her knees.

"You're okay here, right?" She asked, and he nodded.

"Do you want to try going a little deeper?" He rolled out into slightly deeper water, Foxy following behind.

"Great job, Red." Red blushed, but looked pleased with his progress.

"We're going to go in a little deeper." She said, seeing his tires barely clinging to the ground. An uneasy expression passed over his face, but Foxy gently coaxed him into it. Soon he was floating towards her after kicking off, and couldn't look more pleased with himself.

"Red, you did it!" She exclaimed happily."Come on, let's see who can do more laps!" She giggled, and he nodded. He began paddling with his tires, slowly at first, then gaining more speed. He whizzed past Foxy, who watched triumphantly.

"Yay, Red!" She cheered, and he scrambled onto a rock a few feet above the water's surface. Fillmore and Foxy backed up, and Red jumped in, sending large waves crashing over Foxy's head. She held her breath and dove underneath them, and began swimming underwater. She popped up next to Red, who looked surprised at first, then gently patted her head with a soaking wet tire. She giggled, then began doing flips underwater. When she jumped up out of the water a few feet, Fillmore and the others cheered. She popped back up after diving down to the very bottom, grinning.

"This is more fun then I've had in years." She announced, and the others agreed. A few hours later, they all trooped out of the water, laughing and still trying to playfully splash each other. Foxy got out of the water, and giggled as Red got out alongside her, then shook himself off, not knowing that she was at his side.

"Red!" She laughed, shaking herself off as well, whipping her hair around in a figure eight shape. Red gently nudged her, offering an apology. "It's all right. It's just water." She smiled, then Fillmore rolled out of the water a few feet away from her. He shook himself off much like a dog would, making Foxy laugh.

"How's that, man? Am I dry enough for ya?" He asked, coming over and gently nudging her.

She laughed, then replied, "Much better." Mater got out as they were talking, dragging the five children with him, who had been trying to be a train in the water. He shook himself off with a laugh, lightly showering everyone with water. Foxy laughed, shielding herself with her hands.

"C'mon, let's go back, man." Fillmore nudged her gently, seeing her shivering. She nodded, then followed after Fillmore, Red hanging back to drive beside her. Suddenly, he stopped, then nudged her, nodding his cab at his side. "You're offering me a ride back?" He nodded, then smiled timidly.

**Aww, I just love the relationship between Foxy and Red. :) But you'll see who she ends up with, if you don't already know. ;) Anyways, I wanted to have Foxy and Red interact, since it seemed like nobody paid too much attention to him in the movies. :( Anyways, EmilyTheBrave, I'm glad you liked that chapter of FORD. It made me really happy when I read it, and I'm glad that you aren't mad at me for updating late. I'll always try to update during the day, that way people have plenty of time to read it. If I don't, however, I'll always apologize. Anyway, hope you like this chapter, and I'm considering uploading another story from my laptop, so tell me what you think about posting another one. :) And another thing: I'm always up for suggestions, so give me some ideas and I'll probably be able to work with them! I might ask you for more info about something, but usually I go with the 'Flo.' (Cars humor. XD) Anyways, see you on Friday, Liz :D**


	14. The Nightmare Reveals Itself

"You are really sweet, Red. Thanks." She replied, gently setting her hand on his side before looking for a way to climb on. She picked his water tanks, and cautiously climbed onto them. Once she had scrambled her way onto his roof, she sat down, and he drove back with the others, going more slowly because of Foxy. "You can catch up to the others, if you'd like, Red." She replied, and prepared to hang onto his roof. He put on a short burst of speed, and soon caught up to the others. She shook her slightly more dry, windswept hair out of her face, and laughed. "That's one way to dry off!" She announced, and Lightning laughed.

As they neared the town, she laid down on Red's roof, trying to flatten herself out as much as possible.

"Where's Foxy, Fillmore?" Flo asked, and Fillmore nodded in Red's direction.

"Red's got 'er, man."

"Pretend I'm not here." Foxy whispered to Red, who tried his best to look confused at Fillmore. He shook his cab 'no', then looked around, as though expecting her to pop up at his side.

"She was with us when we left the waterfall..." Lightning said.

"Maybe she got lost!" Flo replied, and Red tried his hardest not to laugh. Finally, he sighed and shook his cab. He rocked gently from side to side, and Foxy popped up.

"What did I miss?"

The others looked up at her, dumbfounded, then chuckled.

"That's a real good trick, man." Fillmore replied, and Foxy grinned.

"Thanks! I can hide in something as small as a suitcase if I really try."

"Hmm... What about a cabinet?"

"Not sure. It all depends on how big the cabinet is."

"Thunder fell asleep in it once."

"I could almost fit two of me in it." She said with a large grin. "Anyone else want to try to hide me anywhere?"

"In a tire?" Mariana asked.

"If it was a big tire, yeah." She giggled.

"In Frank's field?"

"That's the field with the tractors, right?" Lightning nodded, and Foxy nodded.

"Sure. I'll bet you wouldn't be able to find me there."

"How about we make this a challenge?" Lightning asked, looking up at her.

"Sure! I love playing hide-and-seek."

"This isn't just your ordinary kid's game of hide-and-seek. This is a game so intense, so out of control, so wild, so UNFINISHABLE, that I bet you a coffee that you can't finish it."

"Sounds like a plan. What do you want if you win?"

"Hmm... you need to... kiss Sarge!"

Foxy's jaw dropped. "WHAT?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Yeah, that's right! You've got to kiss Sarge if you lose!" Lightning exclaimed, grinning wickedly. "If I were you, I'd try not to lose."

"Hold on! I get a coffee on you if you lose, but if I lose I've got to kiss SARGE?! How is that fair?!"

"Fine, if I lose, I'll get you unlimited coffee, AND I'll be your butler for a day."

"Make it a week and you've got a deal."

"Two days."

"Six days."

"Two days. Take it or leave it."

"All right. Let's shake on it." Foxy slid down from Red's ladder, and made her way over to Lightning. Just as he was about to set his tire in her hand, she blurted out, "A week!" Lightning tried to pull back, but by the time he did, their agreement was already in play. The others laughed.

"She pulled the wool over your eyes, boy." Doc replied, chuckling.

"No fair!" Lightning exclaimed, and Foxy laughed.

"We shook on it. Now you have to be my butler for a whole week and get me unlimited coffee if I win."

"IF you win, which you won't!" Lightning replied, and Foxy climbed onto his hood.

"Oh, yeah?"

"They don't call me Lightning 'Winner' McQueen for nothing!"

"They don't call ya that, man." Fillmore replied, and Lightning sighed while Foxy giggled.

"When are we going to have this 'incredible' game?"

"It's going to span through three days. If I can find you in all five sessions, two in the dark, at night, and three during the day, I win. If I can't find you, even once, you win the game."

"All right. Rules?"

"No rules. This is technically free roam."

"Cool! So I can hide wherever I want?"

"On rooftops, in trees, in caves, wherever."

"Nice."

"It's going to start NOW!" Lightning exclaimed. "Oh, wait. I've got to let you get a head start first, since you're a girl."

"Hey!" She exclaimed indignantly, but waited until he closed his windshield before bolting off at a fast but easy pace. She looked for a place to hide, her eyes darting back and forth frantically like an animal being preyed upon. She darted into the forest, trying not to make a sound. She swung into a tree with a thick trunk, and climbed until she was hidden from view in the leaves. She hid behind the trunk, her heart pounding as though it wanted to give her away.

Pretty soon, she heard loud crashing and the sound of an engine. She froze, gripping the branches as best as she could with her shoes. Her heart sped up faster, until she couldn't seem to hear the car moving towards her over the blood pounding in her ears. They stopped at the base of the tree, then revved their engine suddenly, one loud, ear-splitting roar that nearly caused Foxy to fall out of the tree. Whoever it was decided that there was nothing of interest in the tree, and she heard them turn around, then drive back the way they had came. She peeked around the trunk and saw a splash of red, and also what appeared to be silver outlines of fins.

'Lightning doesn't have fins.' She thought to herself in confusion. Suddenly, she remembered the movie night her and Fillmore had gone to. Her mind formed an image of bright red fins, lined with chrome all around the edges. "Christine." She breathed, and her mind seemed paralyzed with fear. If that really was Christine, why was she following her? Was Christine really leaving, or was she just going to hide out, and wait until Foxy came down from the tree, then try and run her over? Or worse? She knew that she couldn't get down from the tree, no matter what. Christine had most likely been following her for some time, and was able to see that Foxy wasn't a fake, or just some strange-looking bear. Foxy began to get more and more scared, climbing from branch to branch until she sank down into a sitting position around nightfall, leaning up against the trunk. She looked around for something she could use as a rope, especially since it was getting dark, and she had seen nobody since the flash of red and chrome. She was just beginning to doze, finding that she could use her sweatshirt as a temporary tie-down so she couldn't fall, when she heard voices. She listened closer, and heard the others.

"I haven't found her yet, Rookie!" That sounded like Doc. She dreamed that, she knew that she did.

"Did ya try over here, man?" She sat bolt upright. She KNEW that she could never dream Fillmore's voice into a dream. Sure enough, she saw lights sweeping through the brush beneath her. She tried to shout, but all that would come out was a hoarse croak.

"I'm over here!" She hoped it carried over to them, and heard Ramone ask, "Did ya hear that?" Pretty soon, there was the sound of something crashing through the bushes.

"Hello? Elizabeth?"

"Up here." Doc's hood lifted up instantly as he heard Foxy.

"How did you get all the way up there?"

"I climbed, b-but there's something else in here." Her eyes began darting around nervously, and she didn't realize that she was shaking.

"What kind of something?" He asked, looking up at her worriedly.

"A-A car."

"A car? Who was it?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it was Christine." The air grew colder, and she began shaking more.

"That was only a movie, there haven't been any 'Christine's here in years. Now come down, you'll freeze up there." He told her firmly, and her eyes darted around, carefully examining every shadow.

"I know what I saw." She replied, refusing to budge.

"I'll get Sheriff and he'll force you to get down." Doc replied smoothly, but Foxy remained where she was.

"Why? There's nothing that says I can't stay in a tree all night."

"You're right, but if you freeze to death just because you refuse to get down, that's classified as a suicide." He could see her scanning the forest, trying to decide what to do, then called, "What if I checked for you to make sure that there's nothing in here except you, me, and maybe a few birds and squirrels?" She nodded hesitantly, clinging to the tree trunk. She was shaking so badly, Doc feared that she would fall out of the tree. He switched his high beams on, then began searching, looking left and right as he went in ever-widening circles around the tree. He scared plenty of birds and squirrels, but just like he had told her, there was nobody else there except for them. "There. Now will you come down?" He asked her once he had made his way back to the tree.

Foxy's eyes grew wide, and a scream ripped her throat apart as something lunged out of the shadows at Doc. "DOC, RUN!" He sped out of the way quickly, skidding around to view his attacker.

Getting up from the ground at the base of the tree, large dents in her hood and grille and shaking her hood, was Christine. "You damn little brat." Christine glared up at Foxy, who said nothing.

"What was that FOR?!" Doc yelled in rising anger.

"Dinner." Christine replied simply, grinning maliciously. "Now, kindly let me finish my hunt IN PEACE." She glared coldly up at Foxy again, who still remained silent.

"Who do you think you're hunting?" Doc growled, glaring at Christine.

"Hmm... YOU as an entree, then HER as an appetizer." Christine replied blandly.

"Says who?" Foxy couldn't believe that she had spoken until it was too late.

"Says me, you little meat sack."

"Who are you calling LITTLE MEAT SACK?!" Foxy roared, and Christine looked slightly surprised.

"You of course. You're the only one here made of meat. My entree is made of metal, like myself."

"Y-You're a cannibal!" Foxy replied in horror.

"Is that what it's called?" Christine asked, and Doc had just about had enough. He roared forwards, then rammed her head-on. She was thrown backwards a few feet, and looked at him in dull shock and surprise. "Fine. Keep your lives, at least for now." Christine snarled, then left, driving deeper into the forest.

"She's gone." Doc replied, waiting until Christine was out of hearing distance. Foxy nodded, then began her slow descent back down. She slipped multiple times because she was shaking so badly, both from fear and the cold.

"Careful." Doc warned as she prepared to jump from the last branch and nearly slipped. She nodded, then jumped lightly to the ground. All the same, she still went down to both knees. He rolled over to her, and gently nudged her in the side when she didn't get up. "You all right?" He could feel her shaking, and was slightly surprised to see tears forming in her eyes. "What's the matter?" He asked gently, and she uttered a harsh gasp before replying.

"S-She could've hurt you."

"It wouldn't have mattered unless she hurt you." He told her placidly, gently nudging her to her feet.

"But-but-but she al-almost hit you. That hit would've really hurt if it didn't kill you."

"She wouldn't have hurt me too badly." She bit her lip, setting her hand on Doc's fender, trying to choke off the quiet sobs that were shaking her skinny form. She managed to get a few words out after a few seconds, even though neither one had moved.

"H-How did you-"

"Know that? She seemed weaker, and not as quick as she usually is. She must be surviving off birds and squirrels." Doc replied, and watched her worriedly as she sank back down to the ground, sitting down and burying her head in between her knees. He could hear her sobbing quietly, and tried to comfort her the only way he knew how.

**Sorry for the late upload, you guys! Anyways, I made it extra long, and you get to see my favorite movie character that isn't from Cars in this chapter! *squee* I don't own Christine, or Cars, or the characters. All I own are Foxy, Thunder, the triplets, Mariana, and Jack. Can I get a read and review? It would make me happy... Pretty please with an adorable mini Mater on top? Thanks! And please no stealing either, okay? :) See you guys next week, Liz**


	15. Foxy's Off To The Races!

He gently nuzzled her side, and she recoiled away slightly, then seemed to want comfort, for she leaned against his fender and cried quietly until she seemed to have no more sobs left. At last when her tears died down to occasional hitchings and sobs, she looked up, shaking with cold as she wiped her tears away.

"Feel any better?" Doc asked cautiously, and she nodded shakily. "Good. Now put that sweatshirt on before you freeze." She nodded without a word, and slipped into her father's sweatshirt, still shaking slightly as she sat on the ground. "Come on, let's go back home." He said, gently nudging her to her feet again. She uttered a slight whimper of protest, but stood up reluctantly. She yawned widely, putting her sleeves up to muffle it. He departed the brush slowly, driving at her side. She plodded back towards the town, tired and worn out, her entire form drooping sleepily.

When they reached the town, Fillmore drove up to them, and nuzzled her gently. "There ya are, man. We were gettin' worried." Foxy sighed, her eyes falling shut as her shoulders sagged as she got a headache.

"What's wrong, man? Ya look like ya were cryin'." Fillmore asked when they were back inside his dome for the night.

She looked up at him wearily through slightly bloodshot eyes, and replied, "Nothing's wrong, Fillmore. It's just been a long night is all."

"I can tell when ya ain't happy, man. This is one of those times." He replied, and she gave up right then and there. She told him everything that had happened, how she had thought Christine was just a movie, but that she was real, and how she had tried to eat her and Doc, and how she had finally just broken down at Doc's side. The tears had threatened to start up again, but she held them down. Fillmore nuzzled her gently, then asked her if she missed her home.

"I guess I do, a little." She confessed, and he nodded understandingly.

"That's how it usually is, man. All of us miss our homes for a little, but then we like it here, so we decide to stay, and before ya know it, this is our new home." She looked up at him in wonder. Was he asking her to stay here, with him and the others? "We can protect ya from anythin' around here that might want to hurt ya, man." Fillmore just continued on, and Foxy found that she wouldn't mind living in a world full of cars.

She yawned again, covering her mouth with her sleeves to try to muffle the sound, and Fillmore nudged her gently. "Get some sleep, man. I asked Doc if ya could stay here for the night." Foxy nodded, and sank down in the beanbag chair, her headache throbbing, her ribs aching, and her body still shaking slightly from the cold breeze blowing into Fillmore's hut. He noticed her shaking, and gently laid down at her side, trying to warm her up.

"Thanks, Fillmore." She mumbled as she snuggled closer to him, wanting to feel his side against her back.

"No problem, man."

"No, for being here for me. I'm not sure what I'd do if I ended up here and you weren't here." She finished, and he gently removed himself from her side so he could go find another blanket. He dug another one out from in a cabinet, then laid it over her. He returned to his spot at her side, and pressed against her gently. She had already fallen asleep, and Fillmore laid his wheel over her, hugging her to his side protectively.

"I ain't gonna let her get ya, man. I promise." He said firmly, looking out his beaded doorway as though seeing Christine lurking outside his dome. With that, he soon fell asleep also, his tire still hugging her. In the morning, Foxy woke up to a blinding bright light, which she realized was the sun. She rolled over, and found herself face-to-side with Fillmore. She was still tired, so she fell asleep for a few more hours. "C'mon, man. Time to get up." She thought she heard Fillmore's voice cut through her haze of sleep, but she felt too tired to listen.

She thought she replied, "I'm still tired, Fillmore." But he kept nudging her. He heard her mumble, but couldn't make out a word she said. He let her be, then sighed and laid back down at her side, thinking of a way to get her up. He just decided to let her sleep, after coming up with nothing to wake her up. He figured that she would wake up eventually, which she did, three hours later, around noon. She yawned, stretching before her eyes were even open. Her hand brushed against Fillmore, and she froze, moving her hand along his side. Suddenly, she dropped back to bed, pretending to be sleeping yet.

"Too late, man. I saw ya." Fillmore chuckled, and she sighed before opening her eyes. She yawned again, then stood up.

"What time is it?"

"I'm thinkin' around noon, man."

"Wow, I slept really late." She replied before yawning again.

"Ya sure did. I tried to wake ya up earlier, but it didn't work."

"Really?" Fillmore nodded, and Foxy stretched. "That's weird. I'm usually up either right before you, or right after you." They departed his dome a few minutes later, and as Foxy walked to Flo's, she noticed that it seemed to be missing someone. She couldn't think of who while her brain was too fogged with sleep, so she just sat down at Fillmore's side.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she realized who was missing. "Lightning's not here."

"He wanted to go practice on the track before his race." Doc replied, and Foxy nodded.

"When's he racing?"

"This afternoon."

"So he's not here, just POOF, completely vanished from the town?" Doc nodded with a chuckle, and Foxy grinned wickedly, doing a very passable imitation of Lightning's same grin.

"Here's your coffee, honey." Flo came out with her coffee, setting it down at her side. She noticed Foxy seemed happier then usual, and asked what had happened.

"Lightning's not here."

"Oh, that. Yes, even though he lives here, he still races honey."

"Remember our bet between me and him?"

"Ohh, yes, of course! You two." Flo sighed, and Foxy laughed.

"This one's on Lightning." Foxy announced, holding up her coffee. The others chuckled, and Foxy took a sip of her coffee, looking rather smug. "I don't mean to brag, really, I hate it, but I knew that I'd win the bet." She said, and Fillmore ruffled her hair just as she was about to take a drink from her coffee. "Nya-Hey! Fillmore!" She laughed, setting her coffee down. He chuckled and continued.

"Sorry, man. It's just really soft."

"Oh, brother. Not this again." She groaned, and the others all laughed. "Could I come watch Lightning?" She asked, looking around at the others.

"Why not?" Fillmore replied.

"Awesome! This is gonna be great!"

"You're going to be the first human in our pit area, so be prepared for lots of questions." Doc replied, and she nodded.

"I'll be the mascot!" She announced, then giggled. The others all looked confused, and she explained what a mascot was.

"Far out, man." Fillmore replied.

"Hmmm... Does anyone have random bits of cloth?" The others all looked at her like she was crazy. "You'll see what I have planned."

"Sure, I think I do, Elizabeth. What color do ya need?"

"Red."

Red looked up expectantly from his coffee, and Foxy laughed. "Sorry, Red. I meant I need the COLOR red." Red smiled, and went back to drinking his coffee.

"Sounds simple enough, man, but what do ya need it for?" Ramone asked, and she grinned.

"You'll see." Her and Fillmore went back to his dome, where they found a few yards of red, and some yellow too. "Perfect!" She went to work stitching up pieces of cloth by hand, occasionally measuring her head.

"What're ya doin', man?" Fillmore asked, watching her.

"It's a surprise, you guys are just gonna have to wait and see." Foxy replied with a grin, at the same time accidentally poking herself with the needle. "Ow!"

"What happened, man?"

"I got my finger, that's all." She replied, sticking her index finger into her mouth and sucking on it, although it didn't help. She began stitching again, Fillmore laying at her side. By the time she was done, she had somehow managed to stab herself by accident in all of her fingers at least once. She tried on what she had made, and grinned-it fit perfectly. She took off her new fox-ear hat, colored in red and yellow for Lightning's team, and turned around to look at her red-with-a-yellow-tip tail that went from her waist down to her ankles, floating a few inches above the ground.

"Perfect. What do you think, Fillmore?"

He nodded, seeing that she had made her own furry outfit, then replied, "Groovy, man."

"It might've been painful, but it was worth it." She replied, looking at her slightly bloody fingers. Fillmore nuzzled her gently, and they went outside.

"Did you finish it, amigo?" Ramone called her way, and she smirked.

"Yeah, plus accidentally stabbing myself in every finger I own." She replied, holding out her fingers for him to see. He laughed, and she felt eyes on her. She turned around, and smiled sheepishly at Doc, waving her fingers in the air gently. He chuckled, then asked her if she wanted them bandaged. "I think I'll live. Thanks though." She giggled, then looked to Red. "Would you want to go for a swim, Red?" He nodded eagerly, and she laughed. He pulled out of his spot, stopping alongside her. She grinned, hopped up onto his side running board, and he took off with her hanging on, yelling back, "We'll be at the waterfall!" The others chuckled, shaking their hoods in bewilderment.

**All right, my computer apparently doesn't like me, and I was struggling to get it to cooperate long enough to let my put this chapter up, so here it is, finally. Read, review, and don't steal, please? Thanks, Liz**


	16. Foxy Meets Chick

When Foxy and Red arrived, she quickly jumped off right before Red jumped into the water. She laughed, then jumped in with him after making sure she took off her sweatshirt. When she popped up, her fingers were stinging painfully in the cold water, and she yelped in pain. Red splashed over to her side frantically, and found her waving her hands through the air, whimpering in pain.

"OWOW, that stings!" She exclaimed, and Red nuzzled her side gently. "I was sewing, and accidentally stabbed myself in every finger AT LEAST once, Red."

He winced slightly, and she held her hands out to him.

"See?"

He looked at her fingers, some of which were still gently oozing blood, and looked down at her with the saddest brown eyes she had ever seen. She was sure that if he could talk, he would've been comforting her.

"It should only sting for a little. I've accidentally cut myself while slicing apples before, and that stung for almost a full minute."

He looked at her hands anxiously, as though searching for a recently made cut.

"It was a long time ago. You can't see where it was anymore, but it was here." She drew an invisible line across her middle finger at the second joint, and Red's expression grew sad again. "Hey, it's all right now though. See?" She bent her finger, and he smiled, nuzzling her gently. "I'm going to try swimming around one more time." She told him, and dove underwater. Her fingers stung momentarily, then the pain faded away. She popped up triumphantly, and Red looked at her sadly, expecting the worst. "It's not too bad. It's almost not hurting anymore."

He grinned, then gently splashed her. She laughed, and gently splashed him back. He splashed her back a little more roughly, and she returned the splash. Soon they were splashing each other and shielding themselves.

"Come on, you two." They froze, Red in the middle of splashing Foxy, and Foxy in the middle of trying to protect herself. She lowered her arms as she turned to look at Doc, and wound up with a faceful of water from Red's splash. She coughed and spluttered indiscernibly as Doc chuckled. "It's about time to go, you two."

Red nodded, then began swimming towards shore, Foxy following, still trying to wipe her sopping wet hair out of her eyes.

Finally, she just gave up and shook herself like a dog, sending water everywhere, and falling backwards into the shallow water with a splash. "Oof!"

Doc and Red turned around to see Foxy sitting in the water, a dazed expression on her face. Doc burst out laughing with Red as Foxy staggered to her feet, her shirt sopping wet and clinging to her body.

"Thanks for the help, guys!" She replied sarcastically, then began laughing too. She staggered out of the water, and Red pulled up alongside her. She grabbed up her sweatshirt, then clung to the water tank on Red's side. He drove off quickly, following Doc, Foxy clinging to his side as the wind dried her clothes and hair.

Soon, they arrived back at Flo's, Foxy completely dry and her hair a mess. She pulled out her pocket hairbrush, then began brushing it through her hair. When she went over to Fillmore's to get her hat and tail, she was in for a surprise when he braided her hair so she could put her hat over it. "Thanks, Fillmore." She smiled up at him before donning her tail and her ear hat.

"Sure thing, man." He replied, and she laughed.

They left a few minutes later, Mater already ready. He grinned at her, and she asked if she could ride along with him. He nodded, and she stepped into his bed. As they drove to Lightning's race, Foxy kept her head down, the tips of her hat showing above Mater's bed.

Nobody stopped them, inquiring about the two yellow objects sticking up out of Mater's bed, and they made it inside the stadium with a little over half an hour to spare. "Now that's cuttin' it close!" Mater laughed, bumping tires with Lightning.

"I'll say!" Foxy replied. "Now can I stick my head up? My back is killing me."

"Oh, sure thing!" Mater replied, and Foxy sighed, raising herself up from her hunched over position. She stretched out her back, arching it like a cat's, then sighed happily and got down from Mater's bed. "Hope it ain't too bumpy for ya back there." He nudged her with a tire gently, and she shook her head.

"No, it was all right, Mater." She smiled, and he gave her a goofy, buck-toothed grin in return. She looked around at her surroundings, admiring everything.

"Foxy, come on. You get to sit in the pits!" Mack told her.

She smiled up at him, and followed him to the pits. "Wow, there's so many cars here." She said, her eyes wide as she looked out upon the crowd of cars. Doc chuckled as he drove onto the crew chief's platform, his racing stickers already in place. "You were a race car?" She asked him in wonder, and he nodded.

"You better believe it, kid." "You're the only one I think who has ever asked me that." He said after thinking for a minute.

"What?"

"Everyone used to know who I was. I was a legend back then for winnin' three Piston Cups, and I'm a legend now for bein' that more then fifty years ago."

"Wow. I'll bet you used to get swamped by reporters." Foxy replied, and he chuckled.

"You'd better believe it."

"So what happened? Or did you just want to be a crew chief for some insane guy?"

"You're right on the 'insane' part, and the race is startin'. Be prepared for the sound of forty-three engines roarin' by you." He replied, and Foxy couldn't help but think that he was hiding something from her. She covered her ears and sat down next to the pit crew platform, watching the red blur that was Lightning, just barely able to hear the announcers' voices over the noise.

"And it looks like the number ninety-five team gained another member, Bob!"

"Right you are, Darrel. And I've gotta say, I don't think I've ever seen a car like that one anywhere around here!" Foxy sighed as she looked up at the big screen to see herself being zoomed in on.

"What does it look like to you, Darrel?"

"Me? I kinda think it looks like a fox, but have ya ever seen a fox with yellow on it?"

"I can't say that I have, Darrel, but maybe Lightning got a new pet." They laughed aloud at that, and the cameras switched back to the racers. As soon as they did, Foxy sighed, a slightly irritated expression on her face. Fillmore nudged her gently, and she turned to face him.

"They're just havin' a little fun is all, man. Remember that they have no clue who ya really are." Foxy looked up at him and sighed.

"Thanks, Fillmore. I'll try to remember that." She offered him a light smile, then whooped loudly as Lightning moved into third place as he whizzed by them. Mater laughed, and she blushed. "I'm so used to rooting for my favorite, I forgot that I'm part of the pit crew."

Doc smirked her way, but continued giving Lightning instructions through the headset. "Hold that spot for now, kid. Chick's not playing any games today."

"Got it, Doc. And-" Lightning was suddenly cut off by Chick, and at Doc's urging, sped around him. Chick snarled, then caught up.

"So, Rook, who's your new pet? I saw it in the pits earlier."

Lightning opened his mouth to shoot back an insult, but then thought twice. "Lay off, Chick. She can bite her way through your door, no sweat."

"Ohh, looks like someone got another 'SCARY' puppy dog, eh?" Chick snorted. "That first one's a walking fur coat, if you catch my drift."

"Knock it off, Chick. I'll set my new pet on you without a second thought."

"Really? It looks kinda scrawny, if you ask me. I think I could bring it down in half a second."

"Chick, go do yourself a big favor, and see if they have any giant rolls of duct tape in the store."

"Why, McQueen? Is it for you and your girlfriend?"

"No, it's to make you SHUT UP!" Lightning yelled, making Doc recoil slightly. Lightning shot forwards, ahead of Chick, and gained second place.

"I ain't done with you yet, Rook!" Chick snarled, rocketing forwards. He nudged Lightning in the back bumper slightly, sending him out of control, swerving and screeching on the asphalt.

"McQueen's loose!" Darrel and Bob exclaimed at the same time.

"OHHHHH, THAT-" Foxy bit into her tail as hard as she could and growled, glaring at the track angrily.

"Lightning's new pet doesn't look too happy! Better watch out, Chick!" Bob exclaimed, laughing with Darrel. By now, with Doc yelling things into the headset, Lightning was back on the track, and had only dropped back to fifth place.

"Calm down, man. You're gonna rip your tail." Fillmore's voice broke into her thoughts, and she realized that she was biting into her tail rather hard.

"Blegh." She replied, spitting her tail out. Fillmore chuckled, then petted her. She sighed, giving him a wry grin. "Is there any food? I'm so hungry, I could eat a fish. And that's saying something, because I hate fish." Mater appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and led her back to the food vendor stands. "They have hot dogs? Wicked!" She exclaimed, seeing the sign.

"No pets allowed." The hot dog vendor replied gruffly.

"Don't ya know? She's the new team Lightnin' McQueen mascot!"

"Rules are rules." The vendor replied, and Mater turned to Foxy sadly.

"Come on then, Foxy. Let's get goin' back." Foxy followed after him sadly. Once they reached their pit area, Mater turned to Foxy, grinning. "How many do ya want?"

"Huh?"

"How many of them tasty-lookin' hot dogs do ya want?"

"I probably couldn't eat more then one, but you don't have to-" She sighed as she realized that he was already gone.

He returned with two giant hot dogs, and handed one to her. "Thanks, Mater!" She replied, and he grinned.

"Aww, shucks. It ain't nothin'." They sat in contented silence, munching on their hot dogs and watching the race. Foxy burped loudly, and blushed bright red. "Excuse me!"

Mater laughed. "Here's how ya do it, buddy!" He burped louder, and she clapped. "Ohh, good one!"

"Thank ya, thank ya, I try." Mater laughed along with Foxy, and Doc even chuckled.

"What's so funny, Doc?" Lightning asked, looking over at the pits curiously.

"Mater taught Foxy a new trick."

Lightning nearly laughed out loud as he heard part of a conversation, which was lower in volume.

"No, no, here's how ya do it." There was Mater's voice, then a surprisingly loud belch. "Ohh, you mean like this?" There was Foxy's voice, then another belch, this one sounding more like a chainsaw. He heard Mater laughing hysterically, then Doc came back over the headset.

"I think you've got the easier job, kid. I've got to stay here and babysit." Lightning laughed, then agreed. He came in for a pit stop, and Foxy grinned in his direction. "Obnoxious." He replied to her earlier belch. She laughed. "It was the hot dogs." He laughed, then drove down pit row, trying to get back into the lead. He made it, and ended up winning the race.

Foxy cheered wildly with the others, whooping and screaming. Lightning drove back into pit row, beaming. "Yay! Great job!" Foxy exclaimed.

"It looks like Lightning's new pet brought him some pretty good luck tonight, don't you think, Darrel?"

"I hear ya, Bob! That new pet of his sure is somethin'!"

"So that's where Chick got that stupid name from."

"What was he saying, kid?"

"He kept saying how Foxy was my new pet, even when I told him she'd tear him to shreds if she knew." The others all looked at Foxy, who looked around at them, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" She shrugged, and the others burst out laughing. "He's just a cocky chicken. After all, that's why his name's Chick, right?" She asked with a grin, and Lightning laughed.

"I'm going to have to remember that one!"

Foxy grinned, and noticed a light blue race car driving up behind Lightning. He pulled up beside Lightning, who looked glad to see him. "Hey, Mr. The King!"

"Howdy, kid. I've been watchin' you race, and I couldn't help but notice that they were commentin' an awful lot about some new pet you got."

"Yeah, that would be Foxy." He replied with a nod in Foxy's direction. She offered The King a smile, and he chuckled.

"This here's your new pet? She don't look like any fox I've ever seen, except for the tail and ears."

"That's because we combined her with a human."

"What?" Foxy asked, looking over at Lightning in disbelief.

"She looks like more of a human then a fox, kid." The King replied, then patted Foxy. "Whatever she is, she's mighty nice."

"Thank you." Foxy replied with a smile, and he chuckled.

"Better get on back to Lynda. She hates bein' kept waitin'."

"Bye." Foxy replied with a grin.

"Bye there, Foxy." He smiled, then reversed and drove off.

"He's nice." Foxy said, and suddenly yawned. "What time is it?" She asked, and Doc chuckled.

"Nearly midnight."

"Nearly midnight? Wow!" Foxy yawned again, making the others laugh.

"Come on, you can ride with me if you want." Lightning told her, and she smiled sleepily.

"Thanks, Lightning."

"No problem."

"Mater, you won't be upset, will you?"

"'Course not! I'll see ya tomorrow mornin'!" He grinned, ruffling the ears on her hat. She smiled, then followed Lightning. He opened the door to his trailer, and Foxy almost forgot she was tired. Inside was the most amazing thing she had ever seen. "Wow..."

"Yeah, it's pretty great. I've gotta go give a speech in my sponsor's tent. Are you gonna be all right here?"

"Sure. I'll probably just curl up and fall asleep." She told him honestly, and he laughed.

"See you in about an hour."

She nodded, then walked inside Lightning's trailer. He waited until she was fully inside before closing the door, and she instantly looked for a light switch. "Duh... cars." She instead looked around for a pedal on the floor, and soon found it. The neon lightning bolts on the walls turned on, giving her just enough light to see, but not enough so that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep. She curled up on the bed Lightning had stashed in the back, cuddling up to his giant pillow before falling asleep.

Lightning returned about an hour later, and found the trailer empty. No Foxy, no anybody. "Foxy? Foxy where are you?" Lightning called frantically, nearly ripping up his mattress trying to find her. He bolted down the ramp, his hood whipping left and right as he looked around for where she might've gone. "Chick!" He exclaimed suddenly. He sped down the line of trailers until he got to Chick's. The ramp was up, but he could hear shouting coming from inside. He rammed into the door lever, trying to get it to open. It descended, and Lightning nearly flew into the trailer.

There was Chick, scowling and looking down at his hood, which was turning a painful-looking shade of purple. Foxy was lying on the bed, growling, her eyes filled with hatred and fear, standing out in her unusually pale face. Neither one heard Lightning come in, and he attacked Chick by surprise.

"Lightning!" Foxy exclaimed.

"McQueen? What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Taking back what's mine, Chick! Is that too much to ask?!" Lightning roared, fire blazing in his eyes. He was ready for a fight, even if Chick wasn't. Chick stood his ground, although his fierce gaze faltered slightly.

"You want her? Come and get her." Chick growled, moving to stand in front of Foxy, pinning her to the wall of his trailer. She yelped in pain, and Lightning charged straight for Chick, grabbing him by the front bumper and dragging him forwards. Chick slammed on his brakes, trying to reverse, but Lightning fought against him, slowly but surely pulling Chick towards the entrance. The smell of burning rubber filled the air, the sounds of screeching brakes and squealing tires joining the smell. Lightning threw Chick down the ramp, sending him flipping side over side a few hundred feet away, then drove over to Foxy.

"Are you okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"He did something to my ankle, and he squished me a little." She whispered, and turned even paler then she already was.

"Do you think you could get on my hood? We don't have much time."

"I'll try." Foxy whispered, and got up off Chick's bed shakily. She tried to limp over to Lightning, but her ankle gave out about two feet away from him and she sank down to the ground at the wall, biting her bottom lip, screwing her eyes shut to try to counter the pain.

"Crawl if you have to, just hurry!" Lightning shouted at her, and she nodded. She held her feet off the ground and crawled on her hands and knees over to his side. "Climb on and hang on." He hissed as he heard Chick roaring back towards them from outside. Foxy climbed on his trunk, holding onto his fin as tightly as possible.

"I'm on." She whispered faintly, and there was the dizzying sensation of her being pushed forwards while laying on her side. It was too much for her to bear, and she fainted. Lightning shot down the row of trailers, and slid to a halt as he nearly passed his own. He glanced back once to see Chick chasing after him, and he quickly sped into his trailer, locking it with the phone that doubled as a lock.

He radioed Mack to come quickly, and drive them back as soon as possible. Mack asked what had happened, and Lightning replied, "It's a long story, but Chick took Foxy from my trailer, did something to her ankle, then chased after me when I got her back."

"Is she hurt bad?"

"Yeah, she looks like she's in a lot of pain. Just hurry, please?"

"I'm comin' now, buddy."

"Thanks, Mack." Lightning detached Foxy from his fin gently, then laid her on the bed. She awoke abruptly, and grabbed at her ankle, closing her eyes tightly and taking shallow breaths, turning ever paler. By now, she was almost the color of chalk, and Lightning knew that she was in a lot of pain. "What did he do? Do you remember?"

"He twisted it, I think he was trying to break my foot so I couldn't escape. I heard something snap." She replied in a whisper, and Lightning drove closer. "Maybe we should take your shoe off."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it."

"All right." Foxy gingerly untied her shoe lace, and Lightning gently pulled on her shoe, trying to hurt her as little as possible. She uttered a quiet whimper, and Lightning froze.

"Maybe you should try it." He told her, and she nodded. She gently wedged her fingers in between her shoe and her ankle, then slid her shoe off. Her ankle was swelling rapidly, and she bit down on her lip again, closing her eyes tightly. Lightning looked up as he felt the trailer lurch. Foxy uttered a quiet whimper from the bed, and Lightning looked over in her direction worriedly.

"How bad is it, Foxy?" She jumped at the sound of Mack's voice coming from above her head. She turned and saw a small television with Mack on it.

"It hurts really badly." She whispered, and Lightning climbed onto the bed beside her to nuzzle her gently. The hours rolled by with agonizing slowness for both Lightning and Foxy.

"We should make it back by midnight tomorrow." Mack said over the radio-television, and Foxy nodded soundlessly while Lightning began pacing again. Foxy hadn't moved from her spot in Lightning's bed except to move backwards until she could lean up against the wall.

"Here." Lightning nudged his pillow towards her, and she smiled faintly.

"Thanks." She whispered.

"I just hope that we get back soon. I think he might've broken it." Lightning replied, then continued pacing. It was early morning when Foxy finally fell asleep, her entire left side on the pillow while her entire right side was off the pillow. Lightning winced as he glanced at her ankle, which had swelled to be about as big around as a baseball. He could almost feel it throbbing painfully.

He noticed that she was shivering, so he gently pulled his blanket over her, a deep, rich, blood-red blanket that was thick and fluffy. It was the greatest blanket he had ever found anywhere, and wasn't surprised when he discovered that he was nuzzling his way under it next to her. He laid down after poking his front bumper out from underneath it so he could breathe. He was exhausted, and cuddling up to Foxy, was asleep in no time. Mack drove both of them home as fast as possible, and they soon arrived back in town, around eleven o'clock, like he had predicted. The others had already gone to bed, so Foxy stayed there for the night, curled up on Lightning's pillow, with him at her side.

She woke up the next afternoon, to bright light and voices. "Turn out the light, I'm still sleeping." She muttered, and she heard a chuckle.

"Mornin', Foxy." Doc greeted her, and he got a vague lift of her hand as a greeting before she attempted to get up.

"You're up. Are you all right? It doesn't hurt anymore, right?" Lightning asked, bursting into the clinic and seeing her sitting up.

"Thanks, Lightning."

"No problem, Foxy."

**How's that for a chapter?! :D It's one of my favorites. Guess who Foxy doesn't like all that much? ;) I hope you guys like it, and remember, read, review, and no stealing! Thanks, and I'll see you next week, Liz**


	17. Foxy Gets Drunk

**Mature rating on this one for alcohol use, just a fair warning.**

She smiled weakly in his direction, then attempted to get down.

"Careful." Doc warned her, and she slid down slowly from the lift, landing on her right foot more firmly then her left.

Lightning drove forwards, and she limped over to meet him. "Hop on."

She gave him another weak smile before sitting gingerly on his hood and swinging her feet up. He backed out of the clinic slowly, then made his way over to Flo's. They all noticed Foxy's bandaged ankle, and asked what had happened.

"It was Chick." Lightning replied quietly, and Foxy nodded.

"I had laid down on the bed to sleep, and the next thing I know, I'm being woken up by Chick as he tried to twist my foot off. I was laying in his bed, so he must've snuck into your trailer, Lightning, to get me. I heard a loud snap from my ankle, and I bit him, right on the hood."

"That's why his hood was turning purple!" Lightning exclaimed gleefully.

"You actually bit him?" Sheriff asked.

"Yeah. I just chomped down and hung on. He screamed like a little girl." Foxy laughed with the others, then continued with her story.

"I think we're just glad that Chick hasn't done anything worse to ya." Sheriff told her at the end of her story, and Foxy nodded.

"I'm just glad that I've got teeth sharp enough to make a racer cry."

Lightning laughed quietly, snickering and giggling, making his hood shake. Foxy was bounced back and forth across his hood, and Sally nudged Lightning in the door with a tire.

"Stickers!" Lightning opened his eyes and noticed Foxy, who was swaying dizzily.

"Sorry Foxy."

"It's all right. That was fun."

"Here, honey." Flo said, bringing Foxy's coffee to her.

"Thanks, Flo. Lightning?"

"Yeah, yeah, I've got it."

Foxy grinned, then sipped her coffee.

"You want to hang out?" His question caught her by surprise, so much that she nearly choked on her coffee. "Are you all right?" Lightning asked worriedly as she blinked rapidly after having a small coughing fit.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I guess I shouldn't drink scalding hot coffee so fast." She replied sheepishly, and he grinned. "Anyways, sure. I've got nothing to do today." She smiled at him, and he grinned back. They left Flo's shortly after she had finished her coffee, and they headed up to Wheel Well. "I love it up here. It's so pretty." She said, looking out to the horizon.

"It's a great place to come and think." Lightning agreed.

"What did you have in mind for our hangout session?" She asked after a few minutes, smiling.

"We could just look through DJ's music, see what he's got, then try and blare it as loud as possible until Sheriff yells at us to turn it down."

Foxy laughed, then agreed eagerly. They went inside the bar area, and Foxy looked curiously at the long counter. "I didn't know you guys could drink."

"We do it all the time."

"You know what I meant."

Lightning laughed, then drove around the back of the counter. Her eyes grew wide as she saw all the various nozzles used to distribute the alcoholic beverages.

"Wow. There's a lot of ways to get drunk." Lightning snickered, and tossed her a nozzle.

"What's this one?" She asked suspiciously.

"It's Bud or something. You guys drink that, right?"

"Sure, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"I'm under twenty-one."

"So?"

"Where I come from, they don't let seventeen-year-olds get drunk on beer!" Foxy laughed, and Lightning snickered.

"You're missing out."

"I guess one little gulp wouldn't hurt..."

"Now you're talkin'!" Lightning put on a fake Western drawl, and Foxy laughed. She shot some of the amber-colored liquid into her mouth, then swallowed. It was the best thing she had ever tasted, and she grinned.

"This is amazing."

Lightning laughed, then pushed a glass in front of her. "That way everyone else will still have some." He told her, and she squirted it into the cup, waiting until it reached the top before setting the nozzle down and drinking deeply from the glass. They found the new D.J. station, and got to work picking out a song. Finally, they agreed on Katy Perry's 'E.T.', and placed it on the disc jockeying station, flipping a switch. The song poured out at a relatively loud level, and Lightning cranked it even louder. Foxy laughed, drinking her beer as she began singing along with the song.

"_You're so hypnotizing, could you be the devil, could you be an angel? Your touch so magnetizing, feels like I am floating, leaves my body glowing. They say, 'Be afraid.' You're not like the others, futuristic lover. Different DNA, they don't understand you. You're from a whole other world, a different dimension, you open my eyes, and I'm ready to go, lead me into the light! Kiss me, ki-ki-kiss me, infect me with your love and fill me with your poison! __Take me, ta-ta-take me, wanna be a victim, ready for abduction. Boy, you're an alien, your touch so foreign, it's supernatural, extraterrestrial! You're so supersonic, wanna feel your powers, stun me with your lasers. Your kiss is cosmic, every move is magic. You're from a whole other world, a different dimension, you open my eyes, and I'm ready to go, lead me into the light! Kiss me, ki-ki-kiss me, infect me with your love and fill me with your poison! Take me, ta-ta-take me, wanna be a victim, ready for abduction! Boy, you're an alien, your touch so foreign, it's supernatural, extraterrestrial. This is transcendental, on another level. Boy, you're my lucky star. I wanna walk on your wavelength, and be there when you vibrate, for you I'd risk it all, all! Kiss me, ki-ki-kiss me, infect me with your love and fille me with your poison! Take me, ta-ta-take me, wanna be a victim, ready for abduction! Boy, you're an alien, your touch so foreign, it's supernatural, extraterrestrial! Extraterrestrial, extraterrestrial! Boy, you're an alien, your touch so foreign, it's supernatural, extraterrestrial._"

Once Foxy had finished, Lightning grinned. "You're a really good singer, even when you're half drunk." He told her, and it was apparent that with half a glass of beer, she was half drunk.

"Hey, hey, hey, McQueen."

Lightning snickered, then replied, "What is it, Foxy?"

"You know that song that I was singing to? That was a great song. Let's play it again."

"All right, whatever you say." He played it again, and she began singing slightly more drunkenly. Lightning laughed, then turned the music up.

"Hey, hey, hey, know who I'm gonna sing that to?" Lightning shook his hood gently, watching her in utter amusement.

"Fillmore."

Lightning's bumper dropped nearly to the floor and he rolled backwards slightly, eyeing Foxy with slight horror. "You can't be serious!" He asked her, and received a drunken nod in return.

"See, see, me and him went to the movies that one night, and we were getting all snuggly, but nothing happened. I looked around, and saw that there was nothing but couples in the back row. There was you and Sally, that's a great pair, then there was Flo and Ramone, they were pretty snuggly too." She replied with a stupid grin.

Lightning shook his hood in utter shock. "You were watching us making out?!"

"Yeah, I sure was. It was really interesting." Lightning's look of horror grew more dramatic, and Foxy giggled. "Nah, I was too busy watching the movie to watch you guys sucking face."

"WHAT?"

"That's what I like to call, 'Making out'." Foxy replied, and Lightning reached out a tire for Foxy's glass.

"You've had enough to drink, Foxy."

She hugged the glass tightly to her chest, and shook her head, nearly falling over.

"You can barely balance, and I'm sure you aren't hearing what you're saying." Lightning replied, and Foxy downed the rest of the glass in one chug as a reply. Lightning sighed as he closed his eyes and shook his hood in defeat as Foxy grew even drunker. Lightning sighed again, rolling his eyes up to the ceiling. "Why am I stuck with the lightweights?" He asked to nobody in particular. "Foxy." Foxy's head snapped over in his direction."Foxy, we should probably take you back now." Lightning exclaimed over the music.

She turned to face him, and replied drunkenly, "I'll be with you in a minute, ma'am. First let me get another drink."

"Why did I even let her BACK there?" Lightning groaned. The disks changed over to rock, and Nickelback's 'Burn It To The Ground' began playing.

"Hey, this is some great rock!" Foxy replied, and Lightning quickly shut off the music.

"Where we going?"

"You're going to my trailer. I can't let anyone see you like this, otherwise I'll get screamed at by everyone."

"Is it an adventure?" Lightning looked down at her in confusion, then decided to play along.

"Yeah, an adventure."

"Adventure is out there!" Foxy replied, then she quieted down for a while. Lightning internally sighed with relief when they had to go through the town to get to his trailer and she didn't say a word. He pulled into his trailer after lowering the door, and gently slid Foxy off his hood and onto his mattress.

"There. Now just stay while I go get a coffee." Lightning reversed out of his trailer, watching Foxy the entire time. She moved into a sitting position to watch him, seeming to not blink. Lightning closed the door, and went down the road, heading for Flo's. Foxy curled up on the mattress, looking around at all the posters and bobbling figures of Lightning.

"He must be famous." Foxy whispered, then laughed drunkenly.

She didn't see Lightning coming back from Flo's with two coffees, and proceeded to look through his music collection. She didn't hear the whirr of the door opening, and as Lightning rolled inside, he heard her mumbling something about 'Flogging Molly'.

"What are you looking for?" Lightning asked her.

"Frogs."

"Frogs?"

"Frogs."

"Okayy, you do that. Good luck finding them."

"Thank you, kind lady. I shall try my hardest."

"You just get weirder and weirder." He set her coffee down in front of her, and she looked at it.

"More beer?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Sure." He replied, and she drank it quickly. He drank his more slowly, watching her cautiously. All she did was curl up and fall asleep. He sighed with relief, then as he was about to drive out of the trailer, he realized that it would look suspicious if he left without Foxy, or a Foxy that was sleeping on his hood in broad daylight. He would just have to stay where he was for the moment. He was glad that he had plenty of magazines stashed away in a cabinet, and settled down next to his mattress to begin looking through them.

Foxy awoke that night to find herself alone on a mattress, in the dark, with a splitting headache and a throbbing ankle. She moaned quietly, and nearly jumped two feet into the air as she felt a gentle nudge at her side. "You all right?"

"Now that you nearly gave me a heart attack, yeah, I'm fine except for a huge migraine and a broken ankle."

"I figured."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You got really drunk today."

"I did? Aww, crap. I'll bet Doc and Sheriff are going to kill me as soon as I walk outside."

"They don't know."

"They don't? How?"

"One, I never told anybody anything, and two, right when we rolled through town, you shut up. You were yelling and shouting the most random things I've ever heard, then you just went silent."

"Please tell me nothing happened."

"What're you-Ohhh... no, nothing happened. Are you kidding me? Sally would kill us both if we did."

Foxy sighed with relief, and then there was another nudge at her side.

"I'm turning the neons on, so just be careful."

"Gotcha." Foxy replied, shutting her eyes against the sudden light. She opened them, and moaned softly as the lights made her headache worse.

"Here." Lightning pushed a pill towards her, and she sighed.

"Thanks." She swallowed it with the cold bit of coffee she had left. "Even cold, Flo's coffee is great."

Lightning chuckled, and Foxy curled up on the bed again. Lightning snapped the lights off, and she instinctively backed up against the wall when she sensed him rolling onto the mattress.

"Just don't flatten me."

"I'm not going to." Lightning replied from somewhere in front of her, and she reached out a hand blindly. She felt a slightly vertical piece of metal, and Lightning yelped. "You're freezing!" He complained.

"Sorry. I can't exactly see you." She replied, and curled up next to his left rear tire, hoping that she would be safer then when she was laying with Max. "What kind of random things was I yelling and screaming?"

"Let's just say that if Fillmore was up at Wheel Well, he would've been surprised. I know I was."

"What did Fillmore have to do with it?"

"From what I heard, it sounded like... you kinda... had a crush on Fillmore."

"WHAT?"

"I'm just repeating what I heard!" Lightning replied quickly. He heard Foxy sigh, then almost didn't catch what she said next.

"It's sort of true."

Lightning couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Are you sure that you're not still drunk?"

"I made sense before, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Just please, don't tell anyone?"

"Wouldn't think of it."

"Thanks, Lightning."

"You were also singing. You thought I was a chick, and on the way back you were talking about an adventure."

"I-I was singing?"

"Yeah, you were really good, even if you were drunk." He heard her curse softly under hear breath, and gasped.

"What, what is it?"

"I didn't think you knew how to curse." He replied, and she laughed.

"Of course I do. I just don't like to because when I do, I usually can't stop for a while. Everything always has a swear after it in my book."

Lightning laughed.

"So I was singing?"

"Yeah, like I said, you were really good. You should sing more often around here."

"I-I couldn't. I'd be petrified."

"Of what? You've known us for a while. You trust us, don't you?"

"Of course I trust you guys, and I'm terrified of singing in front of people."

"We're not exactly people, if you catch my drift."

"Ha ha. I just... can't do it. Every single time I try, I'm shot down in school by someone else better then me at the song. Eventually, I stopped altogether."

"Hmm... What's your favorite song?"

"Nickelback's 'When We Stand Together'. Why?"

"You'll see." She could almost hear the wicked grin in his voice, and she shuddered.

"Neon." She shut her eyes tightly, then opened them again. She found Lightning looking through his stereo for the Nickelback disk, and he put it into his CD player about a minute later. The song started thumping out of the speakers, and Foxy bit her lip nervously. Lightning grinned, then turned it up slightly louder.

"_One more depending on a prayer, and we all look away. People pretending everywhere, it's just another day. There's bullets flying through the air, and they still carry on. We watch it happen over there, and then just turn it off. Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! We must stand together! Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! There's no givin' in! Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! Hand in hand forever! Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! That's when we all win!(Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!) That's, that's, that's when we all win! That's, that's, that's when we all win! They tell us everything's all right, and we just go along. How can we fall asleep at night when something's clearly wrong? When we could feed a starving world with what we throw away, but all we serve are empty words that always taste the same. Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah! We must stand together! Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! There's no givin' in! Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! Hand in hand forever! Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! That's when we all win! (Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!) That's, that's, that's when we all win! Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! That's, that's, that's when we all win! The right thing to guide us, is right here inside us! No one can divide us when the light is nearly gone! But just like a heartbeat, the drumbeat carries on!_ "

He had no idea when she had started singing, but her voice carried beautifully as she sang until the music break. When she stopped, she looked at Lightning and blushed. He grinned, and she giggled.

"_And the drumbeat carries on! (Just like a heartbeat!) Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! We must stand together! Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! There's no givin' in! (Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!) Hand in hand forever! (Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!) That's when we all win! Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! That's, that's, that's when we all win! That's, that's, that's when we all win! _"

**How'd you guys like that chapter?! I just had to put something in about Foxy drinking beer, since I figured it would be hysterical. You mustn't think me rude for including it, I couldn't resist. (Sorry, Dr. Who marathon. :D) Show of fans, who would want me to do an Easter-Themed oneshot between Foxy and Fillmore? And Happy Easter to those who celebrate it! :3 Please, no stealing, read and review? Thanks! :D See you next Friday, Liz**


	18. The Truth Comes Out

"You're amazing! Where did you learn to sing like that?"

"I taught myself." She replied, blushing. Lightning laughed, then she dared him to try and sing.

"I don't sing."

"Hey, you made me sing. Now it's your turn."

"In the morning." Lightning told her, and she sighed.

"All right, but only since it's late." They settled back down onto the mattress, and soon both were asleep. The neon stayed on for about fifteen minutes, then shut off on its own.

Early in the morning, Foxy woke up, yawning and stretching. Her hand hit something rather abruptly, and she looked to see that she had been snuggled up to Lightning. 'Why do I always find myself using one of them as a teddy bear?' She thought, and Lightning woke up a few minutes after her, yawning. He stretched out like a cat, then grinned.

"Morning."

"Morning, Lightning." They departed his trailer, and Foxy began singing again.

"_Right, right, turn off the lights, we're gonna lose our minds tonight, what's the dealio? I love when it's all too much, five A.M. turn the radio up, where's the rock and roll?" _

She imitated the sounds of a guitar as she played an air guitar while riding on Lightning's hood when they went down the road.

_"Whoo! Party crasher, penny snatcher! Call me up if you want Gangsta! Don't be fancy, just get dancy! Why so serious? So raise your glass if you are wrong, in all the right ways, all my underdogs, we will never be, never be anything but loud, and nitty-gritty, dirty little freaks! Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass! Just come on and come on and raise your glass! Slam, slam, oh hot damn! What part of 'PARTY' don't you understand, wish you'd just freak out! Freak out already. Can't stop, comin' in hot, I should be locked up right on the spot, it's so on right now. It's so fuckin' on right now. Party crasher, penny crasher, call me up if you want Gangsta. Don't be fancy, just get dancy. Why so serious?! So raise your glass if you are wrong, in all the right ways! All my underdogs! We will never be, never be anything but loud, and nitty-gritty! Dirty little freaks! Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass! Just come on an come on and raise your glass! Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass, just come on and come on, and raise your glass! Oh, shit, my glass is empty. That sucks! So if you're too schooled for cool (I mean it), and you're treated like a fool (treated like a fool) you can choose to let it go, or we can always, we can always party on our own. So raise your (Aww, fuck!) glass if you are wrong, in all the right ways! All my underdogs! We will never be, never be anything but loud, and nitty-gritty! Dirty little freaks! So raise your glass if you are wrong, in all the right ways! All my underdogs! We will never be, never be anything but loud, and nitty-gritty! Dirty little freaks! Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass, just come on and come on and raise your glass! Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass, just come on and come on and raise your glass! For me!_"

She finished the song just as they arrived at Flo's, and she slid down off Lightning's hood to limp over and sit down beside Fillmore. "Mornin', man."

"Hey, Fillmore." She greeted him.

"You're a good singer. Why haven't you ever sang before?"

"I've had my reasons." She replied lightly, and Ramone nodded.

"_I don't wanna be the girl who laughs the loudest, or the girl who never wants to be alone. I don't wanna be that call at four o'clock in the mornin'. 'Cause I'm the only one you know in the world that won't be home. Ahh, ahh, the sun is blindin', I stayed up again. Ohhh, I am finding, that's not the way I want my story to end. I'm safe, up high, nothing can touch me. Why do I feel this party's over? No pain, inside. You're my protection, but how do I feel this good sober? I don't wanna be the girl that has to fill the silence._"

She paused for a few seconds, then began singing again. Lightning gave her a significant look, as though saying, "Wrong song if you want your secret to stay a secret." Foxy just leaned her back against Fillmore gently and kept singing.

"_The quiet scares me 'cause it screams the truth. Please don't tell me that we had that conversation, 'cause I won't remember, save your breath, 'cause what's the use? Ahh, ahh, the night is callin', and it whispers to me softly, 'Come and play.' I am fallin'. And if I let myself go, I'm the only one to blame. I'm safe, up high, nothing can touch me. But why do I feel this party's over? No pain, inside, you're my perfection, but how do I feel this good sober? Comin' down, comin' down, comin' down, spinnin' 'round, spinnin' 'round, spinnin' 'round! I'm lookin' for myself sober! Comin' down, comin' down, comin' down, spinnin' 'round, spinnin' 'round, spinnin' 'round! Lookin' for myself, sober. When it's good then it's good. It's all good then it goes bad 'till you try to find the you that you once had. I have heard myself cry, never again. Broken down in agony, just tryin' to find a friend. Ohh, ohh. I'm safe, up high, nothin' can touch me. But why do I feel this party's over? No pain, inside, you're like perfection! But why do I feel this good sober? Im safe up high, nothin' can touch me. But why do I feel this party's over? No pain inside, you're like perfection, But how do I feel this good sober? How do I feel this good sober?_" As she finished the song, the others smiled as she blushed.

"That was really good, honey." Flo smiled, and Foxy blushed even more.

"Thanks, Flo."

Sheriff chuckled as he saw how badly she was blushing.

"Cut it out." She whimpered, giggling. "That's why I never sing anymore."

"Ya shouldn't let it get to ya man. If you're really good at somethin', then ya shouldn't care if they laugh at ya."

"Thanks, Fillmore. I guess I never thought of that before." She caught Lightning's eye, and noticed him grinning at her. She frowned and shook her head slightly, telling him no. He rolled his eyes and nodded his hood slightly towards Fillmore, passing it off as trying to get rid of an insect. Foxy flashed him a look of slight panic mixed with fear, and he suddenly understood. She wasn't sure if Fillmore felt the same way. He remembered what it had been like when he had wondered if Sally liked him the way he liked her. He sighed, then returned to drinking his coffee. Foxy received her coffee from Flo, with Lightning buying it of course. She began sipping her coffee contentedly, and Max rolled over to her.

"Hey, Max." She greeted him with a smile.

"You want to go for a ride?" He asked.

"Sure." She replied with a smile, climbing onto his hood. He pulled out of Flo's and began driving up towards Wheel Well.

"You seemed pretty quiet yesterday when Lightning and you went to his trailer. Was something wrong?" He asked innocently, and Foxy cursed mentally.

'He knows! Friggin' rights!' "No, nothing's wrong. I mean, no, nothing WAS wrong!" She offered him a smile, and he raised an eyelid.

"Uhh-huh. Are you sure?"

"I'm an awful liar, you know that, Max. All right. Just promise you won't tell anyone. When I say anyone, I mean 'ANYONE'."

"Okay, I promise."

"You can't just promise, you've got to make the 'Furry promise'."

"It's really that serious? Fine." Max sighed, then continued. "'Ears, tails, muzzles, paws. I swear this secret won't leave my jaws.' There. Now will you just tell me?"

Foxy shut her eyes tightly, and whispered something.

"I can't hear you." She took a deep breath, then replied, "I got drunk off beer last night."

"You WHAT?! You know that you could be arrested, and so could whoever gave it to you!"

"That's why Sheriff isn't going to find out, RIGHT?" She looked desperate, and he sighed.

"Right."

"That's not everything."

"Really, I'd love to hear more. Go on." Max replied sarcastically.

"All right, I must've been having a good time while I was drunk, because I let another secret slip."

"What's your secret?"

"IlikeFilloreasmorethenafriend! There, I said it!" She slid down off Max's hood and limped to the edge of the cliff, staring down towards the ground below it. Mentally, she was kicking herself and cursing every few seconds.

'Why the hell did I tell him that! It's bad enough that Lightning knows! How could I be so stupid?! Now he might tell Fillmore, or let it slip by accident. I knew I shouldn't have opened my big fat mouth!' She had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't hear Max roll up beside her.

"Come on, don't do this, Liz. It's not worth it, and I doubt that Sheriff would want to have to investigate it." She suddenly realized that she was standing at the very edge, almost ready to jump.

"Max, I just don't know what to do." She sat down at the edge, looking out into the horizon. It all happened at the speed of light. One second, she was sitting at the edge, too chicken to jump over it, and the next, she was sitting on a crumbling pile of rocks.

"OH, SHIT!" She heard Max bellow as she screamed, falling down too quickly. Then, she jerked to an abrupt halt, swinging gently and looking at the ground about a thousand feet down below her.

"Oh. My. GOD!" She screamed, and her voice shook shrilly. She could hear Max grunting, but that was about it, other then her panting. She tried to look up, and saw Max, gripping her sweatshirt in his teeth firmly, trying to pull her up.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, he managed to haul her up, back onto safer ground. "Are you all right, Elizabeth?"

She heard his voice shake, but she couldn't answer, just squeak. He nuzzled her gently, and she cuddled closer against his side, shaking and whimpering.

"What happened? Where's Elizabeth, man?"

Foxy looked around Max's fender and saw Fillmore driving over to Max faster then she would've thought possible.

"Are ya all right?"

Foxy could only nod, shaking with fear, the sight of giant cacti looking like the tips of needles still far too fresh in her memory for her liking.

"She sat down on the edge of the cliff and it crumbled underneath her." Max told Fillmore, his voice still shaking. Fillmore rubbed his front against Foxy gently, and she stared out at the area where the cliff had crumbled blankly, reliving what had happened only mere minutes ago as her eyes grew wide with fear.

"C'mon, man, snap out of it." Fillmore said firmly, nudging her persistently as she shook and whimpered, never blinking, looking like she had just seen a ghost. She pressed herself against Fillmore, and he could feel her shaking. Max nuzzled her gently, but it didn't help.

"She's terrified of heights." Max said suddenly, lowering his hood in shame.

"Huh?"

"Why didn't I realize this sooner? She's horrified of heights, not just terrified. Whenever she has something like that happen, she always 'freezes' like those fainting goats. The only way to snap her out of it is to... Grrr, I wish I had been able to hear what her parents had said, but they shut the door because I could catch it!"

"We're just gonna have to try somethin' to see if it works."

"I guess we're going to have to, Fillmore."

"She loved her dad, let me try something." Max took a deep breath, then attempted to impersonate her father's voice. She snapped to attention, looking around with fear and still shaking slightly.

"Fillmore? What're you doing up here?"

"I heard ya screamin', man, so I got here as fast as I could."

"Thanks, Max. Thanks, Fillmore."

Fillmore nuzzled her gently, and Max replied, "That's why you shouldn't give up. I mean, you weren't ready for that, right? Imagine what would've happened if you would've done it purposefully."

Foxy could only nod shakily, clinging to Fillmore. Max rolled over to Foxy and nudged her up onto her feet again. She climbed onto his hood, and they drove back down, Fillmore following. When they got back to the town, Sarge asked Fillmore if what he had heard was correct.

Fillmore nodded.

"What happened? Fillmore said that he heard you two screaming, but none of the rest of us heard it." Sally replied, looking at them worriedly.

"We went up to talk, Foxy accidentally sat down too close to the edge, and it crumbled underneath her. I caught her just in time, and pulled her back up." The others looked shocked, and Foxy remained silent. She couldn't have said anything even if she would've wanted to.

"Are you all right?" Lightning asked her, and she nodded silently. Thunder jumped down from Lightning's hood, then jumped up onto Max's hood, laying down next to Foxy. She began petting him shakily, and he laid his head on her knee, whining softly. After a few minutes, he laid down on his back in her lap. She began scratching his belly gently, and he reached up and licked her gently.

"Awww." Mariana whispered to Max, who grinned down at her. Foxy smiled weakly and petted Thunder, scratching his belly slightly harder. He whined happily, licking her hand.

"You made a friend for life, Foxy." Max chuckled. Thunder got down off his hood, and Foxy slid down, landing on her right foot, then stepping gingerly with her left. She limped over to sit down beside Fillmore, following Thunder. She accidentally bumped into Sarge when she sat down, and she recoiled, cringing against Fillmore's side, waiting to be beaten to a pulp by Sarge. He leaped at her, and Fillmore moved around to block her and cause Sarge to stop short.

"Hey, c'mon, man. It was an accident. Ya know she didn't mean it."

"Yes, but I've noticed that she ONLY sits on that side so she can purposely be near me! If that's not the reason, then why doesn't she sit on the other side of you? Now stand aside!" A firm look passed over Fillmore's face as he stared at Sarge.

"No way, man."

"Fine." Sarge whipped around Fillmore, pouncing on Foxy and pinning her to the ground. He looked down at her as she whimpered and began shaking, shielding her face with her hands.

"You're not even from this universe, are you?" He snarled at her.

"No, I'm not!"

"Then how'd you get here? And why are you here for an indefinite amount of time?"

"I don't know the answer to either one of those questions." Foxy replied shakily, and Sarge pressed on, until it was Foxy's turn to become irritated. "You ask me ONE more freakin' question, you're losing your back bumper." She warned him, her face changing into a snarl to rival his own.

"Is that a challenge?"

"Was that a question?"

"You know what, IT WAS!"

"Thunder, could you help me out here for a second?"

Sarge jumped as Thunder came from behind him and grabbed Foxy's right pants leg.

"All right, now be careful."

Thunder pulled her out from under Sarge quickly, and as she staggered to her feet, Sarge turned around to face her.

"Ready to lose that bumper?" She asked him with fire in her eyes as she glared at him. He could hear her teeth gritting together, and he had heard the story of how she had bitten Chick, so he knew that she would be able to chomp his bumper off. He threw her a smouldering glance, then drove back to his Surplus Hut. "If you ever want to apologize for beating me up, let me know!" She called to him, then laughed.

"Ya all right, man?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, Fillmore. I've never seen you stand up to Sarge like that before." She limped back over to his side, and eased her way into a sitting position.

"What did you say to him to make him leave like that?" Sheriff asked.

"I didn't say anything, at least not then. He was here when I told you guys how I bit Chick's hood, and he knew that's what was going to happen to him. Plus, I might've added my 'glare' in there somewhere."

"What's your glare?"

"If I'm really mad at someone, I'll give them a look that would shoot a laser through them, if I had lasers in my eyes." She giggled. Mariana giggled also, and rolled over to Foxy.

"Could you teach me how to do that?"

"What, use the 'glare' on someone? Sure."

"Thanks, Foxy!" Mariana replied joyfully, and Foxy grinned.

"I should warn you, it didn't work on Chick when I tried it on him." Mariana nodded, then went back over to Mater's side. At this moment, Chick was talking to Christine in low tones in his trailer.

"Did you see her?"

"See her? I still have the teeth marks from that thing."

"She seems to be friends with that little brat."

"This ought to be good. While you're making the plan, I'm going to be the one who carries the whole thing out. As usual..." Chick replied darkly, and Christine glared at him.

"Shove a tire in it, for pete's sake. All you ever do is complain about how you need to beat that McQueen, make McQueen lose, win a Piston Cup and rub it all over McQueen's hood. Really, do you need to win that badly? Is it to prove something? If it is, you're doing a horrible job." Christine shot back.

"Hey, if it wasn't for me, you'd be starved to death in that cave yet!" Chick began raising his voice, glaring daggers at Christine.

"Without me, you'd be nothing! NOTHING whatsoever!" Christine screamed back at him, then rolled down the ramp with a growl. "Fine. Keep your horrid little fantasy about how you're going to win that stupid sponsorship when you win your fake Piston Cup. I'll kill the brat."

"Who says you get to kill the brat! Maybe I wanted to!"

"Too late, race car." That hit Chick deeply. Christine had never called him 'race car' before. "And for the record, we're through."

"Fine, you worthless pile of scrap! Why don't you just go listen to your diddy-bop and go for a cruise?" Chick shouted at her, forcing himself not to cry out in pain and loss. "Just get lost!"

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Parking there, talking to me." Chick replied, his hood throbbing slightly.

Christine snarled at him, then turned around and drove away without a second glance. Chick watched her go, glaring fiercely through the tears he refused to let fall, mainly because they were tears of anger. He drove back inside his trailer, and radioed his driver to come pick him up.

"Sure thing, boss." When Chick felt the trailer lurch, he nudged his way under his pillow on his bed and laid there, the pillow resting on his roof and drooping over his windshield to rest on his hood. He opened his eyes a few seconds later when he felt something hot and wet run down his hood. At first he thought it was oil, that maybe Christine had struck him without him knowing, but then he felt it again. He looked down at his hood cross-eyed just in time to see a tear drop off his hood and into his grille. He snorted in disgust at himself, crying like a baby over some car who had been around the block more then a few times.

**XD Chick and Christine. So, now Foxy's secrets come out, eh? And what did you all think of the furry promise? XD I completely made that up. AAAAnnnyway, how's everyone liking the story so far? I know I like it. XD Tune in next time for the next great chapter of Not Everything Is What It's Cracked Up To Be, brought to you by Liz! I'll keep you coming back for more, and I'll make reading fun. xD My god I'm so corny. See you next week, Liz**


	19. As Bitter As a Green Apple

**Warning: Alcohol use in this chapter.**

But still, he realized that he only disliked McQueen because of racing, and that he didn't hate Mariana at all. 'Funny when you're alone how your mind makes you think of things.' He sighed, and tried to ignore the throbbing in his hood that was slowly getting worse. THAT whatever-she-was though, that was one thing he truly hated, loathed, wanted dead. He had only been trying to see how fragile the thing was when he heard a snap, and the next thing he knew, she had latched onto his hood, and wasn't letting go until he called himself a-No, he wasn't even going to think about it! He shook his hood fiercely, and groaned as he gave himself an even worse hoodache.

'There's got to be something in this trailer for hoodaches.' He thought to himself, looking around. Finally, he spotted the bottle and drove over, tipping the bottle by accident and causing it to tumble onto his hood. He moaned as it hit the spot where that creature had bitten down. 'THAT wasn't going to help, Hicks.'

He sneered, and swallowed two of the pills down with a bottle of wine he had been saving.

He turned on his CD player in his trailer, and discovered 'Scars' by Papa Roach.

'_I tear myself open, I sew myself shut. My weakness is that I care too much, and my scars remind me that the past is real, I tear myself open just to feel! I'm drunk and I'm feeling down and I just wanna be alone, I'm pissed 'cause you came around. Why don't you just go home? 'Cause you channeled all your pain, and I can't help you fix yourself, you're making me insane. All I can say is, I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut. My weakness is that I care too much, and my scars remind us that the past is real, I tear my heart open just to feel! I tried to help you once, against my own advice, I saw you going down but you never realized that you're drowning in the water, so I offered you my hand. Compassion's in my nature, tonight is our last stand! I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut. My weakness is that I care too much. My scars remind us that the past is real, I tear my heart open, just to feel. I'm drunk and I'm feeling down, and I just wanna be alone. You shouldn't ever come around, why don't you just go home?' Cause you're drowning in the water, and I tried to grab your hand. I left my heart open, but you didn't understand. (But you didn't understand) GO FIX YOURSELF! I can't help you fix yourself, but at least I can say I tried. I'm sorry but I gotta move on with my own life. I CAN'T HELP YOU FIX YOURSELF, BUT AT LEAST I CAN SAY I TRIED, I'M SORRY BUT I'VE GOTTA MOVE __**ON WITH MY OWN LIFE**__! I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut. My weakness is that I care too much. Our scars remind us that the past is real. I tear my heart open just to feel. I tear myself open, I sew myself shut. My weakness is that I care too much. My scars remind me that the past is real. I tear myself open just to feel._ '

He laid on his bed, drinking the bottle of wine and thinking about the irony of the song. He finally passed out after another bottle of wine, the pillow over his eyes, his snoring muffled, the empty bottles at his side.

The next morning, he was returned to his home by his driver, and he headed straight for his wine cellar. He brought up bottle after bottle of wine. Soon, he got to the point where he didn't even remember why he was drinking anymore. He parked on the couch, gazing blankly at the television.

He passed out on the couch a few hours later. When he woke up at noon the next day, he opened his eyes to see a fluffy creature on his hood.

"Hey, scram you beast." He sneered, and startled the animal. It bit him, then bolted away, up the ramp and out of sight. Great, he probably had more of those beasts in the attic. His hood was throbbing more painfully then before, and he took two more pills with a can of oil. It didn't help like it had before, and he moaned quietly before going to get the mail. As usual, his mailbox was filled with ads, bills, and taxes, considering that he hadn't been home in a few months. He sorted through it, deciding what he'd burn as fire starter in the winter, what he needed to pay, and what he could get someone else to pay for him.

He finished sorting through the mail, then decided to go and chase those pests out of the attic. How they kept getting in, he wasn't sure. When he went up, he found a whole nest of them in the rafters, and proceeded to whack them down with a broom before shooting them with a hunting rifle. That ought to keep them from invading his attic. He hung them just inside the spot where the other animals were getting in, having read some nonsense in the news that animals know when another is dead if they find it, and won't go near that area until the dead animal is gone.

He looked down at his hood to check on the bite, and saw that it had gotten worse. He shook his hood and departed the attic, heading back down the ramp to watch television. He hadn't realized how close to winter it was, at least not until the weather reporter said that there would be colder temperatures coming his way. He sneered at the weather reporter, grumbling about how they could say absolute trash, and still get paid. He doubted that there would be any cold weather coming his way that night, and switched to the racing news.

On the channel was another stupid reporter commenting on how awesome McQueen was. He heard something about Lightning's new pet, and he froze, his wheel hovering over the remote, ready to change the channel. He set it back down, and listened.

"What exactly is Lightning's new pet, George?"

"Marla, I can honestly say that I have no idea what his new pet could be."

"Maybe it's a monster from another planet." George Wheelson joked, and he and Marla shared a laugh.

"Check out this clip from the race that shows what his pet was doing when Lightning was pushed off the track by fellow competitor, Chick Hicks." As Chick watched, a clip showing Foxy sneering like him, then screaming something, only to cut herself off by biting into her tail.

"She looks pretty mad, Marla."

"She sure does, George. Speaking of Hicks, he got another second place finish at his last race-" Chick snapped off the television. He didn't want to hear anything related to that anymore.

Suddenly, like a burst of white-hot light, all that had happened over the past few days swept over him. He remembered Christine's threat to get Mariana, and he realized that he needed to warn them about Christine. He got off the couch and began driving to the front door, then stopped. He couldn't just drive there. He would be seen, and obviously asked questions about why he hated McQueen so much, and he didn't have time for those questions. He drove back into his house and called his driver, Roger.

**Do you guys think I got Chick's attitude right? I tried to read into his character a little more, and I can't tell you how long it took me to analyze the movie, to watch for his attitude on things (and also just to enjoy my favorite movie. XD). Read, review, and don't steal. EmilyTheBrave, I'm working on a story I think you'll like. Hopefully, I'll have it done soon, then you can tell me what you think of it. :3 See ya, Liz**


	20. Chick Comes To Town

Roger arrived about a half an hour later, and Chick told him to find the fastest way to Radiator Springs. They were soon underway, and Chick had to keep reminding himself why he was going to the town. They arrived in a day, and he looked around anxiously, his eyes sweeping the horizon as though expecting Christine to be there, out in the open. When he realized she wasn't, he sighed with relief before rolling into town.

"Chick, what do you want?" Lightning frowned, his expression clearly telling Chick that if he wanted to fight, he would. Chick nearly snarled when he noticed what was sitting on Lightning's hood. It was that stupid thing, 'Foxy'.

Foxy glared daggers at Chick, moving her feet closer to her body instinctively.

"I came here to warn you."

"Of what? You finally getting a Piston Cup? Not going to happen, Chick."

"Will you forget about the stupid cup for five minutes? I'm trying to save your bumper here!"

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Lightning snickered.

"Can it, McQueen. I'm serious." Chick fixed Lightning with such a serious stare that Lightning began fidgeting uncomfortably.

"Rookie, he's not kiddin'. I think you should listen to him to see what he's got to say."

"Thank you." Chick shot in Doc's direction. "What's it going to be, Rook? Are you going to listen to your crew chief, or are you going to park there and crack jokes all day?"

"Fine. What did you come to warn me about?"

"It wasn't you specifically. It was the little Beetle."

"Mariana? What does she have to do with anything?"

"I'll explain everything. Where is she?"

"H-Here I am." Mariana replied. She scrambled onto Lightning's hood, pressing her side against Foxy, who laid a hand on her roof, trying to comfort her.

"Good. Christine's going to be coming after you." The throbbing in his hood was getting worse, but he ignored it. The others looked at each other anxiously, then Lightning spoke up.

"How do we know that this isn't a trick?"

"I felt that after certain things that happened last night between me and her, the least I could do was tell you all."

"What did you do to your hood?" Mariana asked, looking at him curiously.

"There were some pests around that decided to take a bite out of me." Chick glanced in Foxy's direction, then continued.

"I shot some of them in my attic."

"That's horrible." Foxy replied, giving him the saddest expression he had ever seen.

"Yeah, well, I didn't want them in my house attacking me." He replied coolly, despite how guilty he felt when he saw how sad Foxy was. She gave him the sad-hound-dog look again, and he gave her a look right back that said, 'It had to be done.'

"When is she coming?" Mariana asked fearfully, and Chick shook his now aching hood.

"I've got not idea. If I had even the slightest clue, I'd tell you, simply because I want to see her fail at something. I want to see her angry that her plans aren't going as planned."

Foxy nodded, then replied that she could outsmart Christine.

"You think so, do you?" Chick asked her, and she narrowed her eyes.

"If SOMEONE hadn't broken my ankle, then yeah, I could."

"Remember that movie, man?"

"Fillmore, you're brilliant! All we've got to do is get someone big enough to kill her! Frank should work just fine!"

"How're we gonna get him to chase after Christine?"

"He's a mean guy, right?"

Lightning nodded, and Foxy sank down deeper on his hood, thinking.

"If it helps, he always chases after me." Lightning said, and Foxy sat bolt upright.

"That's it! Christine's red, so he should chase her no problem... except I think it's time to let him out of the field."

"WHAT?! Have you gone mad?"

"No, just let me explain."

"What happens if he comes after one of us? Or worse, you?"

"I think I'll be okay, all you guys have to do is-"

"That would end badly, mainly for us. We can't let him out."

"Oh, o-okay." Foxy replied quietly, looking down at her knees.

Fillmore drove over to her, and continually nudged her until she looked up. "Don't be afraid to scream, man."

"Thanks, Fillmore." She gave him a smile, then waited until he was back in his parking place before letting loose a loud, shrill scream that made everyone around her cringe and fall silent.

"Jeez, what did you do, install an alarm on that thing?" Chick glared at Lightning, who glared back.

"Will you all just listen to me? Please, all I'm asking is about half an hour of quiet so I can explain what I've got in mind." There were nods of agreement and consent, and Foxy began explaining her plan. The others stayed silent until she had finished, and asked timidly, "What do you all think?" When nobody answered her, she fell silent with a sigh.

"I think it'll work."Chick looked around at the others, then at Foxy. She offered a timid smile in his direction. He smirked back at her, and she sighed.

"But Foxy, what if she gets you before you can climb up the tree?"

"Then you'll hear me screaming, and know what to do." Foxy replied firmly. The others looked around at one another worriedly, hoping that they wouldn't hear her screaming.

"Remember, as soon as you all hear Mariana screaming, that's our cue. Christine's coming onto our turf now."

"Make sure you scream as loud as you can before she tries to keep you quiet." Foxy told Mariana, who nodded.

"Mater, you remember what you've got to do with Lightning?"

Mater grinned and gave Foxy's hair a good ruffling.

"Okay, okay!" She giggled. "All right, great. Everything's ready. Now all we have to do is wait for her."

Chick nodded, then headed back to his trailer. There, he drove onto his bed, and nudged his way under his pillow. He attempted to fall asleep, but his thoughts were full of their plan for Christine. He began pacing, and his thoughts finally wore him out enough for him to sleep. He fell asleep sprawled out on his bed, covered in the blanket, his large pillow covering his windshield as he snored. The next morning, he was rudely awakened by someone jumping onto his hood. He shot into the air, babbling nonsense, his hood whipping back and forth frantically. He heard a quiet moan, and rolled forwards slowly, trying to gently nudge whatever was in front of him.

"DON'T. MOVE." He froze, and his eyes widened as he saw something reach up and set itself on his hood. When he realized that it was only Foxy, he relaxed.

"Why did you wake me up so early?"

"Here, it's earlier then you're used to getting up, nearly three hours earlier."

"So you couldn't let me sleep?"

"Hmmm... Nope."

Chick sighed, rolling his eyes up to the ceiling. "What do you want, anyways? Or do you always wake cars up just as the sun is rising?"

"I just wanted to see your hood. It looks like whatever bit it besides me really mangled it."

"Oh, yeah, it did."

"Could I have a look then?"

"It doesn't matter to me." Chick laid back down in his bed, yawning sleepily as Foxy looked at the bite marks.

"Looks like it was a raccoon. Were there any in your attic that were hissing or spitting?"

"Like a cat? All of them were."

"No, I mean like really spitting. Like gigantic globs of spit."

Chick shook his hood sleepily. "Not from what I could see."

"Were there any fleas in their fur?"

"Nope. They were surprisingly clean little rats."

"They're omnivores. They eat mainly anything."

"Whatever."

"The good news is that you don't have rabies."

"What's rabies?"

"Let's just say that if that raccoon did have rabies, you'd be foaming at the mouth, trying to kill everyone, and would be dead within a few days of the bite."

"Pardon my French, but 'Damn.'"

"I agree, and that's not French, it's German." She smirked, and he shook his hood.

"Interesting. Now could I please go back to sleep?"

"Be my guest. All Doc wanted was to know if that bite transmitted rabies." Chick rolled his eyes, then quickly shut them. Foxy shook her head in bewilderment, and left Chick's trailer as quietly as she had gone in.

"So, he got that there 'Rabies' or what?"

"No, he doesn't. Chick's lucky to have a driver that cares so much about him, Roger." Foxy smiled, and Roger scuffed a tire in the dirt.

"I'm just mighty glad that he's all right. Thank ya kindly, Miss Foxy."

"Of course, Roger. Goodnight."

"G'night." Roger smiled back at her as she gently set her hand against his grille, then she went back to Fillmore's while Roger fell asleep next to Chick's trailer. A few hours later, when the sun was actually in the sky, Chick awoke sleepily, feeling more tired then he had ever felt in his life. He supposed it was because he was in a place that was three hours behind his normal sleeping schedule. He yawned, then settled back to sleep, only to be woken up again by something snuggling against his tire. He looked down and saw Mariana, giving him large begging eyes.

"...What?"

"I had a nightmare. Could I sleep here? I know you'll chase them away."

"Chase who away?"

"The monsters."

Chick rolled his eyes, then yawned. "Fine, just... go to sleep fast, since I'm still tired."

Mariana nodded, then laid down again, snuggling against Chick's tire. Chick sighed quietly, then dropped lower on his shocks, which creaked quietly. He fell asleep quickly, and Mariana opened her eyes a little. She saw Chick sleeping, and gently climbed onto his hood.

"That's not sleeping." Chick mumbled, then opened a sleepy eye to look down at her. She was curled up into a little ball on his hood, her eyes shut tightly, asleep. He looked around, then seeing nobody, he smiled softly, then went to sleep also. Later in the morning, he awoke to find Mariana still sleeping on his hood. He didn't have the heart to wake her up and order her off his hood, so he rolled out of his trailer slowly, trying to not let her roll off. He drove into Flo's, yawning.

"Morning." He replied shortly.

"Looks like you're not as scary as before, Chick." Lightning snickered, seeing Mariana curled up on his hood.

"Hey, lay off, McQueen. It was early this morning when she came in."

Lightning grinned. "Nice try, Chick. She's not afraid of you anymore."

"She said that I would scare away the monsters in her nightmare, so she still thinks so." Just then, Mariana yawned widely, opening her eyes sleepily and uncurling. She looked down, and it took her a minute to comprehend whose hood she was on. When she did, she looked down at her own guiltily.

"Sorry, Chick." She whispered.

"No biggie, Bug." He replied, and she sighed before laying down again, sprawling out on his hood. Doc chuckled as he drove over, seeing Mariana lying on Chick's hood, fully relaxed.

"If that doesn't mean you're trustworthy, then I ain't sure what does." He replied, and Chick nodded slightly. The triplets rolled over, and Sara drove over to Chick, looking up at him curiously.

"What's your name?"

"The name's Chick Hicks."

"That's nice. Are you a race car?"

"Sure am." "Who's your sponsor?"

"HTB. Stands for Hostile Takeover Bank."

"Ohh. Can I see?"

"All right..." Chick lifted her up onto his hood, and she looked at his sponsor's logo, then nodded.

"Okay."

"Okay what?" He asked, looking down at her in confusion.

"Just okay."

"Okay."

Lightning snickered.

"Look, a Carpile!" Harry exclaimed, jumping onto Chick's hood, Paul and Jack following shortly after.

"Wha-Hey!" He exclaimed in a muffled voice, looking down at the kids in confusion.

"Isn't this a Carpile?" Harry asked, looking confused.

"I dunno. Is it?" Mariana asked, looking at Chick curiously.

"No, at least it wasn't before." He replied with a sigh, and the five giggled.

"Why am I so loved by these three?" He asked Lightning a few hours later, still not being able to shake the triplets, who always seemed to want him to play with them.

Lightning grinned, then replied, "They think you're some magical being who they've never seen before." He burst out laughing, much to Chick's annoyance.

"I'm serious!"

"So am I. We don't get a lot of new cars around here very often, so to them you're like nothing they've ever known." Chick was surprised when he began to feel pity for the small town, and instead turned his attention to the triplets.

"Mr. Chick! Mr. Chick! Do you want to play pirates? You could be the giant squid!"

"Mr. Chick, do you want to play hide-and-seek?"

"Mr. Chick, i-if it's not too much trouble, would you like to watch a movie with me?"

"Who else usually plays that stuff with you?"

"Mack pretends to be the giant squid!"

"Red is really good at hide-and-seek!"

"Mater's a good snuggler while watching a movie."

"Why don't you three see if they want to do all that stuff with you? I'm kinda beat."

"Okay, Mr. Chick." The three chorused, then sped off in different directions.

"Nice. I'd end up doing all three."

"You get used to swerving around things after a while." Chick replied, and looked around for Mariana.

"Where's Bug? I told her that I wanted to talk to her."

"She's probably with Mater."

"Got it." Chick went off in search of Mater, and found him swimming with Mariana and Fillmore, Foxy watching from the bank. "Hey, Bug!" He called in her direction, and saw her turn. She saw him there, and her mind went into a panic before she remembered that he wasn't going to hurt her. She swam over to him, and shook herself dry when she got out, showering Foxy.

"Hi. What is it?"

"I just wanted to talk, that's all."

"All right." She offered him a cautious smile, then told Mater that she'd be back soon. He grinned and wagged his tow hook, and continued splashing Foxy when she asked him nicely. Mariana shook her hood, giggling, then followed Chick.

"I just wanted to apologize for doing... well, everything. I mean, if it weren't for me, you would still have both of your parents, and Christine wouldn't be trying to kill you every time she sees you."

"If it weren't for you, I never would've known the others." She replied with a soft smile.

"Is that why you aren't trying to carnap me?"

**I had to make Chick at least act sociable, since there are children present. And as for the idea from Alvin and the Chipmunks with Mariana snuggling with Chick, I just thought it would be cute. That idea belongs to whoever directed the movie. XD And as for the "That's not French, it's German." It just sounds German, if you think about it for a while... XD Read, review, and don't steal? In the words of Michelle Tanner, "Thank you very much!" XD Liz out! Peace!**


	21. Caught In The Cave

"If it's about Christine, it concerns me, and by that logic, I deserve to know."

"You learned a lot from McQueen's crew chief, didn't you?"

"Who, Doc? I guess I did."

"But you're right. I'll tell you about it." He began telling her what had happened about three days before, and Mariana was a good listener. When he had finished, Mariana scrambled onto his hood so she could look him in the eyes.

"It might seem bad right now, Chick, but just remember, everything gets better. It might not get better right away, but it will. You just need to wait it out."

"You've really learned a lot from the others." He told her, and an expression crossed his features that Mariana thought she would never see: Sorrow mixed with slight happiness. She smiled timidly, and he glanced up at the sky to see it becoming black with clouds. "Looks like there's a storm comin' soon. Better get back." Mariana nodded, and just then, Mater came whizzing by, Foxy in his bed, riding him like a horse. He slid to a stop, then turned around and raced back towards them. She scooped Mariana off Chick's hood, then he continued bolting back towards town, Foxy barely hanging on.

Fillmore rolled up beside Chick, who had a look of confused shock on his face.

"What just happened?"

"Elizabeth's scared of thunder, man." Fillmore replied, and Chick nodded in understanding. They rolled back, Fillmore lagging slightly behind Chick. By the time they got back, it was raining pretty hard, and thunder was rumbling off in the distance, about two miles away from the town. The sky was as black as night, and the others had their headlights on, making sure everyone was here.

"Where's Elizabeth, man?"

"I saw her riding Mater into town." Lightning replied with an ill-concealed grin.

"Yeah, but did ya see where she went?"

"No, I didn't. Sorry Fillmore."

Fillmore drove over to his dome, and searched for Foxy, high and low. He couldn't find her, and did something he rarely did: Panic. He rushed back outside into the rain, switching his headlights on to try and find her. None of the others noticed when he went out into the desert to look for her. Only Roger and Chick stopped him to question him briefly about where Foxy and the others were.

He replied with the whereabouts of the others, but ignored the question about Foxy, driving off into the rain to find her. He looked underneath every bush he came across, and found nothing. Not even a shoe. His eyes darted back and forth, searching frantically for Foxy.

He drove back into the town, heading for Tailfin Pass. Nobody stopped him once again, and he checked the forest, calling both her names. When he didn't get a response, he drove up to Wheel Well, and looked for her there. He didn't find her anywhere, and was just about to drive farther along the road through Tailfin Pass when he heard thunder, then a squeak that seemed to echo. "Elizabeth? Is that you, man?"

"Fillmore, help!"

"Where are ya, man?" He asked frantically. The sound of his voice shocked her-he sounded terrified, and nearly hysterical with panic.

"I slipped off the edge again! Please, is there anything up there to pull me up with?" The sound of her voice shocked Fillmore, and his eyes widened. She sounded like she was in a living nightmare, and couldn't get out.

"Yeah, there is, man!"

"Thank god! Now, can you lower it down?"

"Sure thing, man." Fillmore replied, then extended his tire as far as it would reach down to her. She swung her legs up, and tried to latch onto his tire. He heard her yelp in pain as her broken ankle hit his tire hard, and he winced. He felt like he was slipping, and he backed up slightly, trying to get a better grip with his tires.

"Fillmore!" She shrieked a few seconds later. His eyes widened again as a bolt of lightning, long and jagged, touched down in front of him. He barely heard her scream over the crackle of electricity. It looked like it was dangerously close to electrocuting her. He gasped as he felt her feet slipping, and reached down another tire. He felt her grab for it frantically, her hands shaking so badly he thought she might let go by accident. He reversed as quickly as possible, and dragged her backwards. He let go of her when she was far enough away from the edge, but she clung to his front bumper, curling up into the fetal position.

"Hey, c'mon, ya gotta snap outta this." Fillmore nudged her gently, but she didn't respond at all. He looked around frantically for help, but realized that he was alone. He saw a cave up the road a little, and looked down at Foxy, who hadn't moved except to start shaking violently.

Not liking himself very much, he grabbed the back of her sweatshirt gently but firmly and began tugging her towards the cave. She didn't make a sound, and her shaking seemed to be getting worse, so Fillmore did the only thing he could think of. He dragged her over to the cave, and settled her in the back. She still hadn't uncurled out of the fetal position, and Fillmore nudged her every few minutes, unsure if she could even feel the nudging.

He eventually laid down at her side and tried to warm her up. He turned his radio on, hoping it would snap her out of it. He dialed across the channels until he found Rascal Flatts' 'God Bless The Broken Road'.

_I set out on a narrow way, many years ago. Hopin' I would find true love along the broken road. But I got lost a time or two, wiped my brow and kept pushin' through. I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you. Every long lost dream led me to where you are. Others who broke my heart, they were like Northern stars. Pointing me on my way, into your loving arms. This much I know is true, that god bless the broken road that led me straight to you. (Yes it did.) I think about the years I've spent, just passin' through. I'd like to have the time I lost, and give it back to you! But you just smile and take my hand, you've been there, you understand. It's all part of a grander plan that is comin' true. Every long lost dream led me to where you are. Others who broke my heart, they were like Northern stars. Pointing me on my way, into your loving arms. This much I know is true, that god bless the broken road that led me straight to you! (Yeahhheayay) Now I'm just a-rollin' home, into my lover's arms. This much I know is true, that god bless the broken road that led me straight to you. That god bless the broken rooad, that led me strayyight, to youuu. _

At the end of the song, he nuzzled her hair gently, cherishing how soft it was. Without thinking, he planted a gentle kiss on the top of her head. He heard her whimpering softly, and drove around so he could see her face.

"You all right?" He looked down at her in a slightly panicked way, his eyes alert and focused anxiously on her face.

"F-Fillmore? Are we dead?" She whispered, cracking her eyes open.

"What kinda question is that, man? Of course we ain't dead." He replied, relaxing once he knew that she was all right.

"How did we get here? And where is 'here', exactly?" She asked, trying to sit up. As soon as she did, she moaned and laid back down, curled up against a rock.

"We're in a cave near Wheel Well, man. Are ya all right?"

"My ankle hurts a little, but other then that, I'm all right, really." Fillmore laid down at her side, and she gently set her hand on his side. He leaned against her gently, and she moved so she was curled up against his side. "What's going to happen now?"

"We might have to stay here all night, man."

"Okay. Then we should try to get some sleep, right?"

"I think ya should, man."

"Are you sure, Fillmore?" She looked at him worriedly.

"Yeah, 'course I'm sure, man. If one of them comes lookin' for ya, then I can get to 'em faster then ya probably could." Foxy nodded, then curled up at his side, falling asleep quickly. Fillmore nuzzled her gently, then tried his best to warm her up since she was still shaking. Nothing he tried worked, but he refused to give up. He laid down at her side eventually, thinking about how to warm her up. Back in the town, the others were all parked underneath the canopies at Flo's, talking about the storm.

"Has anyone seen Foxy lately?" Lightning asked suddenly, seeing her and Fillmore were missing. "Or Fillmore?"

The others all looked around at one another, shaking their hoods.

"Do you think they're holed up over at his home?" Brian asked, and went over to check. He returned quickly, shaking his hood and sighing.

"We've got to find them."

"That's gonna be nearly impossible. It's nearly floodin' the roads, kid." Doc told Lightning.

"Plus, it's pouring rain, dude. How're we going to see them in it?"

"You guys don't get it. Foxy's terrified of thunderstorms." Lightning replied firmly, and the others looked around at one another anxiously. "I'm going out to find them." He declared, and began driving out of Flo's and down the road.

"Hey, Rook!"

Lighting stopped, sending water flying up. He looked back and saw Chick rolling up to him. "What is it, Chick?"

Chick drew back at the snappy tone of Lightning's voice, but continued. "Let's go find her."

Lightning dipped his hood in agreement, then the two set off at a steady but fast pace. Doc shook his hood, then sighed.

"They're gonna get themselves lost." He muttered, and Sheriff nodded, agreeing.

Before long, Lightning and Chick came back, covered in rainwater, shaking slightly and without a Foxy or Fillmore.

"We tried." Chick told the others glumly, watching as Lightning drove back over to his cone and shut the door. The rain continued on for days, churning the dirt up near Foxy and Fillmore's cave into deep, quicksand-like mud. They couldn't leave the cave for fear of getting stuck in the mud, and were hoping for the rain to stop soon.

Foxy was still shaking, and Fillmore was running out of options. He had tried to wring her sweatshirt out, but it hadn't helped. He began pacing the cave, frowning hard, concentrating on a way to help Foxy. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard her coughing slightly. "Ya all right, man?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just-" The rest of her sentence was cut off by a coughing fit. Fillmore rolled over to her and nuzzled her gently, his eyes falling shut sadly.

"We're gonna get outta this soon, man. I promise." Foxy continued coughing, and this did nothing to brighten Fillmore's spirits. He laid down at her side, and she curled up against his side, pulling the hood of her sweatshirt up over her damp hair as she moaned in a quiet, hoarse tone. Fillmore seemed to wilt lower to the ground when he saw her pull up her hood. He'd never seen her do that before, and guessed that she didn't do it unless something was wrong. He gently laid a tire over her side gently, and she snuggled against his side more, wanting comfort.

She fell asleep nestled against his side, still shaking slightly. Fillmore had been awake for the majority of the days since they had been stuck in the cave, and he was tempted to fall asleep for just a little. He shook his front end firmly to prevent himself from falling asleep, then began pacing again, trying to figure out how to keep Foxy warm and to keep himself from falling asleep. The next morning, he thought he heard one of the others calling, and looked up alertly from where he had been laying at Foxy's side. "Hey, man, we're over here!" He shouted out into the rain, and thought he heard a reply. He waited and waited, but he never saw anyone. He sighed and laid back down at Foxy's side. Her coughing had gotten worse, and he rarely ever left her side anymore throughout the passing days.

"Wh-Who was it?" Foxy asked in a hoarse whisper.

"I ain't sure who it was, but I don't think they heard me, man." Fillmore replied sadly, and Foxy looked down at the ground sadly. "There ain't too many hidin' spots around the town, man. Somebody's sure to find us soon." Fillmore said, trying to cheer her up. She sighed, and her breath escaped in a wheeze. Fillmore nuzzled her gently, and she curled up facing his side, shaking, her eyes shut tightly in her pale face. Fillmore tried to get her to warm up, but he ended up just laying in front of her and trying to block the freezing wind blowing into the cave and onto her.

"Thanks, Fillmore." She whispered, and even that sent her into a tiny coughing fit.

"Ya don't sound too good, man." Fillmore told her in an almost depressed tone of voice, and he gently nuzzled her. She groaned quietly, and didn't reply, just laid on the ground, curled up into a ball. Fillmore sighed, then began slowly falling asleep. His front end lowered until he was nearly resting on the ground, then he snapped awake, looking around alertly and blinking rapidly. He sighed, then got up and drove to the entrance of the cave.

About three feet in front of him was the river of mud, and he looked sadder then ever. He drove back inside and laid down next to Foxy for lack of anything to do. Foxy's cough grew even worse, and Fillmore grew worried. He heard one of the others' voices again, and shouted as loud as he could. He saw lights towards the right of the cave opening, and shouted again.

"Fillmore, is that you?"

"Yeah, man! I'm over here!"

"Where's Foxy?"

"Inside the cave. She's not doin' too good though." He looked closely at the other car, and discovered that it was Lightning and Chick. A darker shape detached itself from them, and leapt the river of mud. When it landed in the mouth of the cave, Fillmore realized it was Thunder. "She's back there, man." Fillmore told him, and Thunder whined before heading towards the back of the cave. He nearly yelped when he saw Foxy. She had gotten thinner, making her face appear thinner and more pale. She opened her eyes with a moan and saw Thunder. "H-Hi, Thunder." She greeted him in a hoarse whisper, then began coughing again, a loud, hacking cough that carried to the front of the cave.

Fillmore winced when he heard it, and Lightning asked, "What was that?"

"That was Foxy." Fillmore replied gloomily. Thunder had gotten her onto his back, and he came trotting into view. "Make sure she's safe, all right, man?" Thunder barked softly, then backed up to get a running start before he jumped over the river of mud. Fillmore began driving back inside the cave, and Lightning called out to him.

"Fillmore, where are you going?"

"I was plannin' on waitin' until that river goes down."

"You could jump it." Chick replied, and Lightning looked over at him, almost forgetting that Chick had come along.

"Yeah, you could jump it, Fillmore." "Fillmore looked from one racecar to the other, and made up his mind. He backed up, and jumped the river. When he landed on solid ground, he sped back towards town, the other two following in his wake.

Meanwhile, Thunder had galloped back into town, and slid to a stop in front of Flo's, where the others were gathered. "Thunder!" Luigi exclaimed, and Thunder barked.

"Did you three find Foxy or Fillmore?" Flo asked, looking at him worriedly. With a moan, Foxy straightened up from hunching low behind Thunder's head.

"Here I-" She broke into a coughing fit, and the others wore varying expressions of pity and sadness. "-Am."

"No offense, but ya sound horrible." Ramone replied cautiously, and Foxy moaned softly.

"Yeah, thanks for the update." Fillmore drove into town shortly after, and slid to a stop in front of Flo's. He drove over to Foxy and looked down at her worriedly.

"Ya all right, man?" Foxy nodded, but had another coughing fit and ended up shaking her head 'no'. She slid down from Thunder's back, then sank down onto the ground underneath one of the canopies. Fillmore parked beside her, and she wasted no time in curling up at his side and falling asleep. He looked down at her with a mixture of sadness, sorrow, and exhaustion.

"Kid, bring her over to the clinic. She doesn't sound too good." Doc looked to Lightning, who nodded as he barely slowed, coming back from following Fillmore. He rolled over to her and gently lifted her onto his hood. She slept on, curled into a ball. The two departed Flo's, leaving the others to their thoughts.

Fillmore began driving off to his dome, thinking of a long nap. Nobody questioned why he was leaving, and he didn't feel up to answering any questions anyway. He laid down out of habit by Foxy's vacant chair and was passed out in seconds, his tires sprawled out.

**And here we learn how Fillmore feels about Foxy. Did anyone see it coming? I'm gonna take a ewld guess and say yes. I'm such a lousy clue-giver. XD The song doesn't belong to me, it belongs to my favorite band, Rascal Flatts. :D Love them! As to why Lightning grins when he tells Fillmore about Foxy riding Mater, just think of that in a very awkward sense. XD Lightning's a dirty boy. See you next week, Liz**


	22. Tractor-Tipping Woes

She giggled weakly, and Red nudged her gently before shyly producing a wildflower for her. "Red, it's so pretty. Thank you." She hugged his front again, and he blushed bright red, even redder then his paint color. He nuzzled her gently as she continued to hug him, blushing bright red. She giggled weakly and pulled away from him. "Red, that tickles." He chuckled silently, then gently tickled her uninjured side with a tire. "Nooo!" She whimpered, giggling as she twisted and turned, trying to get Red to stop tickling her. Fillmore chuckled, and Red continued tickling her, making her squeal and scoot farther away from him, giggling. He came after her, grinning shyly. The others all watched her and Red with amusement as they sipped their drinks. Red managed to tickle her once more before she climbed onto his roof. She laid down on her back and watched the drizzling rain drip down from the sky. "I wish it would stop raining. I like the rain and all, but not after so many days. It's sort of depressing."

As though the skies had heard her, it gradually stopped raining. "How'd you do that?" Lightning asked her in wonder.

"Do what?"

"Make it stop raining just by saying so."

"I didn't. I just said that I wished it would stop raining."

"Let me try. I wish the sun would come out." The skies remained grey and cloudy, and Lightning muttered something about it only working for Foxy. Foxy giggled weakly, and looked up at the sound of another engine. The King was driving down the road towards them, and Foxy smiled at him.

"Hi, Mr. The King." She greeted him, and he dipped his hood in greeting.

"Howdy there, Foxy."

"Hi, Mr. The King."

"Howdy, kid. And I told you before, call me 'Strip'."

"All right, Strip."

Foxy giggled weakly, and Strip looked in her direction worriedly.

"Somethin' the matter? You don't sound too good there, Foxy."

"I'm all right, I just stayed out in the rain for too long." She replied, coughing again. She laid down facedown on Red's roof, moaning quietly and mumbling something indiscernible.

"What was that, Foxy?" Chick asked, and Strip seemed to notice that he was there. "Hey Weathers." Chick greeted him with a nod of his hood, which Strip returned with a slight stiffness. The others were watching the meeting with anxious expressions. They all remembered what had happened that last time the two had been within a few feet of each other, and were hoping that Chick wouldn't do something that he'd regret. Foxy sensed that something was wrong and looked down at the two nervously, biting her bottom lip. "I'm going to go ask Roger if he's awake yet. See ya, Weathers." Chick said after a moment of awkward silence. He backed out of his spot and drove off towards the trailer. Foxy sighed with relief. She hated when two people were yelling at each other. Strip chuckled, hearing her sigh. She ended up laying down on Red's roof again facedown after a few minutes, his cool metal comforting to her. She mumbled something indiscernible again, forgetting that she was facedown, and Strip chuckled.

"What was that, Foxy?" She lifted her head up, grinning sheepishly, her hair in her face. She started to say something, then spit her hair out of her mouth. The others laughed, and she blushed. "Cut it out." She whimpered, giggling. "What I said was, 'What have you been doing since we met?'" She looked down at Strip with a smile, and he chuckled, then replied.

"Nothin' extraordinary. Just spendin' time with my wife is all."

Foxy smiled down at him, then proceeded to lay down on Red's roof facedown again. Red looked upwards, shaking his front end in bewilderment. About fifteen minutes later, Foxy climbed down, and Strip rolled over to her to greet her properly.

"Ya look different then the last time I saw ya, Foxy." He stated, and she nodded.

"That's because I don't have my tail or ears with me at the moment."

"What did you do with 'em? Cut 'em off?" He asked, and she laughed hoarsely.

"No, the ears were a hat, and the tail was just clipped onto my jeans." Strip chuckled, then nudged her gently. DJ nudged Wingo, a crafty expression on his face. He began playing Sugar Ray's 'Fly' and burst out laughing. As the song played, the others reluctantly listened. DJ began singing softly, much to the others' surprise. DJ rarely sang anything.

"_Spread your love and fly, fly. Spread your love and fly, fly. Spread your love and fly, fly. Spread your love and fly, fly. All around the world, statues crumble for me. Who knows how long I've loved you? Everywhere I go, people stop and they see. Twenty-five years old, my mother god rest her soul. I just wanna fly. Put your arms around me baby, put your arms around me baby. I just wanna fly. Put your arms around me baby, put your arms around me baby. Well spread your love and fly, oh me oh my! Spread your love and fly, yo me four eyes! Spread your love and fly, fly. Dance a little stranger, show me where you've been. Love can make you hostage, wanna do it again. There's no time to think 'bout the startin' or the end. We'll find out, I'm told, my mother she told me so. I just wanna fly. Are ya, are ya, are ya high, high, high! Put your arms around me baby, put your arms around me baby. I just wanna fly. Like a birdie in the sky up so high. Put your arms around me baby, put your arms around me baby. I just want to fly. I just want to fly._"

Wingo cut in with the background rapping, and Foxy had to admit, even though she didn't exactly like rap, the two were pretty good.

"_All around the world statues crumble for me. Who knows how long I've loved you? Everyone I know's been so good to me. Twenty-five years old, my mother god rest her soul. I just wanna fly. Like a birdie in the sky up so high. Put your arms around me baby, put your arms around me baby. I just wanna fly. Higher, higher, higher, higher, high, high, high. Put your arms around me baby, put your arms around me baby. I just want to fly. I just want to fly. I just want to fly. Like a birdie in the sky up so high. Put your arms around me baby, put your arms around me baby. High, high, high, high, higher than high. I just wanna fly. Like a birdie in the sky up so high. All around the world statues crumble for me. High, high, high, high, higher than-That's right, spread your wing and fly, oh me oh my! I just wanna fly. I just wanna fly._"

As he finished, Wingo kept rapping to the end of the song, and Foxy smiled when he looked in her direction. "Pretty good, eh man?" He asked her, and she nodded.

"Yeah, especially since I can't rap for my life."

Wingo laughed, and Foxy asked DJ if he had ever heard of Flogging Molly.

"What kinda group is that, man?" He asked, and she grinned.

"You'll see." She carefully pulled a CD out of her jeans pocket, and asked if she could play it.

"Sure thing, man." She went around to DJ's stereo and slipped the disk in. A drumbeat started the song, and was soon joined by a piccolo.

They were joined in a sudden burst of noise by a guitar.

"_Her breath began to speak as she stood right in front of me. The color of her eyes were the color of insanity. Crushed beneath her wave, like a ship I could not reach her shore. We're all just dancers on the Devil's Dance Floor. Swing a little more, little more o'er the merry-o, swing a little more , little more next to me. Swing a little more, little more o'er the merry-o, swing a little more on the Devil's Dance Floor. Pressed against her face, I could feel her insecurity. Her mother'd been a drunk while her father was obscurity. But nothin' ever came from a life that was a simple one, so pull yourself together girl, and have a little fun! She took me by the hand, I could see she was a fiery one. Her legs ran all the way up to Heaven and past Avalon. Tell me somethin' girl, what it is you have in store. She said 'Come with me now on the Devil's Dance Floor!' Well swing a little more, a little more o'er the merry-o, swing a little more, a little more next to me. Swing a little more, a little more o'er the merry-o, swing a little more on the Devil's Dance Floor. Swing a little more on the Devil's Dance Floor._"

As Foxy sang along, Wingo, DJ, and Boost provided the drumbeat. The others were nodding their hoods to the beat, and Foxy grinned as she saw Lightning grin her way.

"_Swing a little more, a little more o'er the merry-o, swing a little more, a little more next to me. Swing a little more, a little more o'er the merry-o, swing a little more on the Devil's Dance Floor! _"

"Dude, this song is wicked." DJ told her, and she grinned.

"Thanks, DJ."

"_The apple now is sweet, oh much sweeter then it ought to be. Another little bite, I don't think there is much hope for me. The sweat beneath her brow travels all the way and heading south. This bleedin' heart's cryin' 'cause there's no way out! Well swing a little more, a little more o'er the merry-o, swing a little more, a little more next to me. Swing a little more, a little more o'er the merry-o, swing a little more on the Devil's Dance Floor. Well swing a little more, a little more o'er the merry-o, swing a little more, a little more next to me! Swing a little more, a little more o'er the merry-o, swing a little more on the Devil's Dance Floor! Swing a little more on the Devil's Dance Floor. Swing a little more on the Devil's. Dance. Floor!_"

As Foxy finished the song, the others were impressed. "That's a nice metal song, man." DJ replied, then ejected the CD for her.

"Thanks, DJ. I'm glad you think so."

"What are ya talkin' about?"

"My neighbors don't think so." Foxy laughed, then seeing Sheriff's glance, she replied hastily, "Only kidding. I keep the music low when I'm at home."

Sheriff nodded his hood firmly, and gradually, the others began talking about other topics.

"You're a mighty good singer, Foxy." Strip told her, and she blushed.

"Thank you, Mr. The King."

"Just call me Strip."

"Okay. Thank you, Strip." He chuckled, and Foxy blushed even more.

"You want to go tractor tipping tonight?" Lightning whispered to her, and received a confused look.

"What's tractor tipping?" She asked him back, and he grinned.

"You're going to love it. I think I'll bring Chick along too. I think he'd love it even more then you."

"All right, fine. I'll go."

"Awesome!"

"Meet me outside Fillmore's."

"At midnight."

"Got it." She had no clue what she had just agreed to, but she had a feeling that it was something that wasn't going to end well, and that she was going to regret. Later that night, they met up just outside Fillmore's, and she got up onto Lightning's hood.

"We've just got to be careful because of Sheriff." He told her quietly, and she nodded. They headed out towards the tractor field, and soon reached it. "Okay, here's what you do. First of all, do you have a horn?"

"No, I don't. Why?"

"That's kinda the whole first step... Hmm..."

"I could yell really loud."

Lightning shook his hood, then replied, "No, they won't be able to hear you. They're dead asleep."

"Why don't you show me how it's done for tonight? I'll ride on your hood."

"Sounds great, except you've got to be careful."

Foxy nodded, and the two headed into the field. Lightning soon came to a tractor, sleeping a little less than peacefully. Foxy grinned, and Lightning nearly snickered. He nodded his hood abruptly, and Foxy turned to look at him in confusion. "Get on my trunk. This is going to be loud." He whispered, and Foxy nodded. She got down off his hood and back on his trunk, and not a second after, he honked his horn loudly, startling Foxy and the tractor. The tractor mooed loudly, then began tipping. It fell onto its back with a muffled THUD, then it was quiet once more.

Suddenly, in one loud blast that would put a cannon to shame, the tractor farted, and the sound echoed for miles. Foxy laughed so hard that she nearly fell off Lightning's trunk, clutching her broken ribs and gasping in between her laughter. Lightning was laughing nearly as hard, pounding one tire against the ground as his eyes streamed with tears.

"My-My ribs..." Foxy panted, still giggling weakly. She uttered a mixture of laughter and coughing, and the tractor closest to them woke up suddenly, tipping itself upright while it mooed loudly. It landed on its rear end with a loud, muffled THUD, like the first one, then all was silent as Lightning and Foxy waited. The fart from the tractor was much like the first, but wasn't any less hysterically funny. Lightning and Foxy began laughing loudly, and Foxy actually did fall off Lightning's trunk this time, coughing and laughing as she kicked her feet in the air, rolling from side to side and clutching her ribs. Lightning looked back at her, and began laughing harder. All around them, the tractors were tipping, but they didn't notice because of their laughter.

Finally, panting, shaking with laughter, and coughing loudly, Foxy got on her hands and knees, looking up at Lightning out of watering eyes. He looked like he had been laughing until he had cried himself, and was also panting and shaking with laughter. He took one look at Foxy, and closed his eyes, shaking his hood and laughing. Foxy cracked up again, falling over and laughing. Their laughter died away in a hurry as they both heard a loud bellow.

"That's Frank."

"Who's Frank?"

"Don't worry about who he is, just get over here!" Lightning sounded panicky now, and Foxy grew more scared. She got up in a hurry, and Lightning drove away, thinking she'd follow. She was racing after him when she yelped loudly in pain. Lightning slid to a stop, and saw her down on the ground.

"Foxy what are you doing?! We need to go, now!" Lightning screamed at her in hysterics over the bellowing of Frank, who was getting closer.

"I-I can't! My ankle!" She shouted back hoarsely, then began coughing harshly. She became aware of bright lights behind her, and the bellowing getting louder. She looked back in a flash to see a giant machine charging straight for her, its giant, sharp blades spinning rapidly, ready to make her into mincemeat.

She shrieked loudly, her voice breaking, her eyes widening to the size of dinner plates, then desperately tried to get up, but kept sinking to the ground-her ankle couldn't support her. Lightning was idling a few feet away from her, his face contorted into an expression of pure horror.

"Foxy, HURRY!"

"I'm TRYING!" She screamed back, her throat nearly ripping apart. She hacked and coughed as Frank came ever closer, and she scrambled out of the way on her hands and knees frantically, almost eating the dirt once or twice as her hands slipped out from under her. She crawled as fast as she could over to the fence, Frank chasing her.

She looked back once, and noticed that Frank was merely two feet from her foot. She rolled out of the way, under the fence, and he charged by her. She laid on the ground limply, every muscle screaming in pain, and tried to catch her breath, which was coming in sharp gasps that nearly tore her lungs apart. She heard a motor approaching her, and soon felt lights on her. She heard them rolling closer rapidly, and prepared for the worst. When she was nudged in the head, she screamed and bolted upwards in a panic, her arms flailing out blindly.

"Hey, hey! Calm down!" She sank back to the ground, panting harshly, then looked up. She saw that it was only Lightning, and laid back down on the hard ground flat on her back, barely feeling it.

"He-was-this-close-" She raised her shaking hands up in the air and held them about two feet apart to show Lightning. "To-taking-my-foot-off."

"I know. I was just about to charge him when I saw you roll out of the way." Lightning was panting also, and she noticed that he was shaking. "I-I think we should call it a night." He suggested, and she nodded shakily.

She got to her hands and knees, then to her feet, shaking. Her ankle exploded in pain when she set her foot down, and she sank to the ground with a soft bleat, sounding like a lamb. Lightning watched her worriedly, wanting to help but not having the slightest idea how. Foxy stood up again, and held her injured foot off the ground, wobbling violently. She hopped over to Lightning's side, and eased her way onto his hood, wincing in pain as her ankle touched his fender gently. She was still panting, her breath showing in thick bursts of cloud before they evaporated.

As they were going back at a quick pace, Foxy rolled over onto her back on Lightning's hood, then placed her hands over her eyes. "You all right besides your ankle?" Lightning asked worriedly, glancing down at her.

She nodded, then replied, "Yeah, just shaken nerves." Her voice quavered as though to prove her point, and Lightning looked down at her more worriedly.

"You sure?"

"My ribs do hurt a little." She confessed, and Lightning groaned.

"Doc's gonna kill me."

"Why?"

"First of all, because I took you tractor tipping. Second of all, because I probably broke your ankle again."

"He didn't want you to take me tractor-tipping?"

"He never knew, until now." Lightning admitted, and Foxy sighed, her breath escaping in a long plume.

"I think I've had enough excitement to last me a whole month, so call me next month when you want to try that again." Foxy said suddenly, and Lightning chuckled weakly. They arrived back at Flo's, which was still open. Fillmore was parked there, and noticed immediately that something was wrong with Foxy.

"What happened, man? Frank didn't get ya, did he?" Fillmore asked worriedly, and Foxy shook her head.

"He almost did though. He was about two feet away from taking one of my feet and making it look like mincemeat." She replied, her voice still shaking as she lay flat on her back.

"That ain't cool, man."

"You're telling me. I doubt that Doc would be able to fix me then." She replied, and Lightning gave her a sudden, odd glare, looking into her eyes as though saying, "Shut up, shut up, shut up." She hurriedly shut her mouth, but it was too late.

"That's where you two went? I should've known."

Lightning closed his eyes and he hung his hood in shame. "I'm sorry, Doc. I couldn't resist."

"Rookie, she could've been killed. You know that as well as I do. You're just lucky that she was as far away from him as she was."

"I rolled under the fence at the last minute." She explained, and Doc held up a tire. She instantly fell silent, biting her lip and hoping that she wasn't going to get in trouble. Doc fixed Lightning with a stern expression, then sighed and shook his hood.

"Honestly, kid, you're worse then Mater when it comes to tractor-tipping."

"I'm sorry, Doc." Lightning mumbled, his eyes dropping guiltily down to Foxy, and they shared a glance before he shut them tightly in shame.

"What's the damage after all this?" Doc asked, and Foxy rotated herself so she was looking at Doc upside down.

"Damage? What damage?" She asked, crossing her legs and hoping that Doc wouldn't notice that she had her injured ankle in the air.

His blue eyes grew stern, and Foxy withered under his expression.

"My ankle." She muttered, and he nodded once.

"That's to be expected. Bring her in, kid."

Lightning rolled into Doc's clinic, and Foxy sat up, turning around cautiously so that she was facing forwards again. She slid down off Lightning's hood and accidentally landed on her left foot, her ankle exploding in pain again. She winced, and gritted her teeth, her foot shooting up from the floor. She hobbled over to the lift, and sank down onto it. Doc didn't even raise the lift, he took one look at her ankle, and deemed it severely sprained, along with being broken. Foxy gritted her teeth together as Doc was bandaging it, her thoughts filled with apologies to the two of them, and berating things to herself.

When Doc had finished, Foxy thanked him meekly, then hobbled back over to Lightning's hood.

"As for you, all I can say is at least wait to go tractor-tipping when your ankle is fully healed." She nodded, then sat down on Lightning's hood, swinging her feet up again and laying down. She was exhausted from her day, and yawned before curling up and falling asleep right there. Doc chuckled, and Lightning looked down at her before sighing.

"She's going to sleep with Thunder then."

"You'd better be at the Butte tomorrow extra early, kid."

"I will be, Doc." Lightning replied honestly, and rolled out of Doc's after wishing him a good night.

"How is she, man?" Fillmore asked.

"Doc said that she had severely sprained it, and it was still broken from before." Lightning replied, and Fillmore looked down at the sleeping Foxy sadly.

"She sure ain't doin' too good, man." Fillmore said gloomily, and Lightning tried to cheer him up.

"She's just having a rough time is all. She wasn't made to outrun a combine like Frank, or tip a tractor, or do anything like that. She just needs time is all. Maybe Thunder can show her. After all, he seems to bond with her really well."

**Read my most recent update of Ford, it'll explain everything, especially why I'm updating later then usual. **


	23. The Aftermath of Tractor-Tipping

Fillmore nodded, and Lightning could tell that he still wasn't satisfied. "Better take her over before she freezes, man." Fillmore said, and Lightning agreed.

"G'night, Fillmore."

"Night, man." The two departed Flo's, and Lightning opened his garage door. He glanced over at Fillmore's, and watched as Fillmore drove inside. 'Fillmore really seemed to care about her. I wonder if he DOES feel the same way about her.' With that thought, Lightning drove inside his cone. Thunder came romping over to him, and he smiled.

"Hey, buddy. Do you mind if she sleeps with you tonight?" For an answer, Thunder managed to get her onto his back, and trotted out of the room, heading for his. Lightning smiled, watching Thunder leave. That was the best quality of Thunder's. He could never stop caring about anyone. Thunder laid down carefully, and shifted Foxy from his back to his bed. Mariana and Jack curled up at Foxy's side, Thunder laying behind her and gently setting his head on her side, below her ribs. The group was all asleep in minutes, and Thunder's quiet snores were the only sound coming from the room.

The next morning, Foxy woke up to screaming pain throughout her whole body that seemed to be radiating from her ankle. She moaned, and tried to shift herself so that she was more comfortable. She was met with soft fur, and discovered that she had a large, furry, brown dog lying at her side. "Morning, Thunder." She greeted him, and winced as her voice came out in a quiet, hoarse whisper. Her throat hurt worse then her ankle, and she figured that she had lost her voice. Thunder heard it all the same, and wagged his tail before reaching up and licking her face. "Yeah, yeah, I'm awake." She tried to say, but got that same quiet voice. She sat up slowly, painfully, and looked around. They were in a large room, in a large dog bed that was covered with fur and tire tracks. Thunder gave her another lick before getting up and stretching and yawning. She did the same, and uttered a small squeak of pain as she stretched her muscles, which were aching from the night before. Thunder whimpered and nudged her gently, and she petted him, trying to show him that she was fine. She stood up unsteadily, then leaned against Thunder for support as she made her way to the door. She was just about to hit the button when the door rolled upwards.

Foxy jumped back in alarm, wincing as her broken ankle hit the floor hard. Lightning was about to roll into the cone, when he spotted Foxy hobbling around, her foot in the air and Thunder trying to catch her as she wobbled back and forth. Just as she tilted backwards, Lightning shot into the cone, catching her so she didn't fall. "Thanks." She smiled up at him sheepishly. Lightning smiled down at her, and chuckled as she yawned sleepily.

"I just got done at the Butte, and was coming over to get you." Sure enough, he was covered in a layer of dirt, and Foxy yawned for an answer. She was too tired to think straight at the moment. "I'm sorry about last night, Foxy."

She waved a hand dismissively, then replied, "No big deal. It was kind of fun, once you get past the terror."

"You lost your voice." Lightning replied, and Foxy nodded. "You and Red would get along great, at least for a while." Foxy's jaw dropped, and she playfully swatted him across the hood while he laughed. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Red's one of my best friends. You really think I'd be that mean?" Foxy shook her head, and Lightning grinned. "No, you think I'm not that mean, or no, you don't believe me?" Foxy held up a finger, and Lightning looked confused. "The first choice?" Foxy nodded, and Lightning laughed. "Come on, let's go see the others." Foxy climbed onto his hood, and he snickered. She smacked him lightly with her hand, and gave him a stern glance. "All right, I'm sorry." They drove outside, and over to Flo's.

"Mornin', man." Fillmore greeted her, and she gave him a grin and a wave. He blinked in confusion, and Lightning answered for her.

"She completely lost her voice." Foxy laid back on Lightning's hood, rolling her eyes up towards his. He laughed, and she got off his hood, then hobbled over to Fillmore. She gently slid down to sit at his side, then laid down on her back again and heard an engine at her other side.

"Hey, Foxy." Chick greeted her, and she smiled over at him. He looked confused, and she pointed to her throat as she shook her head. "You lost your voice?" She nodded sheepishly, and Chick looked confused. "How did you manage that?" She gave him a slightly irritated look, and he snickered. "Sorry. Force of habit." She nodded, then laid down again.

"What's wrong, Foxy?" She looked up and noticed the triplets gathered around her at her feet, watching her worriedly.

"She can't talk, you three." Chick replied, and they looked confused.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"She lost her voice."

"Could we go find it?" Foxy opened her mouth slightly, and looked like she was laughing, then gave the three a fond look.

"Ya can't go find a lost voice, man. It's not missin' or anythin, it's just... takin' a few days off." Fillmore replied, and Foxy rested her face in her hand.

'_Oh, Fillmore..._'

"Ohh, okay." Harry replied, then the three tried to get her to talk. Finally, they gave up after seeing that she really couldn't talk. Flo brought over Foxy's coffee, and smiled at her. Foxy smiled sheepishly, and Flo laughed.

"You sure did lose your voice at the worst time, didn't you honey?" Foxy tilted her head and gave Flo a confused look. "It's Sunday. Today, Lightning goes to a race." Foxy's look of dismay made Lightning laugh, and she shot him a murderous look, at which he quickly became very interested in his coffee.

"Ya can still come along, man. Ya just can't scream, or really talk all that much." Fillmore told her, nudging her in the side gently with a tire.

'_Yeah, thanks, Fillmore_.'

"Is it true you can't talk, Foxy?" DJ asked, rolling over to Flo's. At Foxy's nod, he gave her a saddened look. She returned the expression, then laid back down on her back, looking up at the clouds. She sensed a presence at her feet, and when she looked up, Red smiled at her. She offered him a tired kind of smile, and he nodded understandingly. She laid back down, then took her shoes off, wiggling her toes. Red nuzzled her foot gently, and she jerked her foot back suddenly, laughing silently and shaking her head rapidly. Red laughed silently, then drove back to his spot. Chick's expression turned crafty, and he began tickling her foot, watching as she writhed on the ground, laughing silently and seeming to plead with him to stop. He continued for another few minutes, and finally he left her go.

About ten seconds passed, then he gently ran his tire down her foot. She shot into the air like she had been shocked, and Chick burst into laughter. "She's really ticklish!" He laughed, and the others chuckled.

Foxy didn't see the triplets whispering excitedly to each other, and laid back down after giving Chick the 'I'm watching you' sign. He laughed, then replied, "I couldn't resist." As the morning wore on, Foxy knew what it felt like to be Red.

'_Not being able to talk to anyone, not being able to laugh, it must drive him crazy!_'

She just lay on the pavement at Flo's, her hair spread out in different directions. A few hours later, she felt a nudging at her foot, and bolted upright. "Whoops, sorry!" Lightning laughed. "I just wanted to know if you wanted to ride with me in the trailer." Foxy nodded, then smiled. Lightning returned her smile, then told her to go get her ears and tail. She did, and Lightning asked Thunder if he wanted to tag along, this time getting a much louder 'yes'.

Foxy returned a few minutes later, wearing her tail and placing her ears onto her head.

"Ready?" At Foxy's nod, Lightning scooped her up onto his hood, and Thunder jumped up. "Now we're off!" He grinned, and Foxy petted Thunder. Mack was already hooked up to the trailer, and he gave Foxy a grin before she disappeared inside Lightning's trailer. She instantly made her way over to his bed and laid down, watching as Thunder chickened out and headed back to Lightning's cone. Lightning laughed as the two made themselves comfortable, then gave Mack the all clear. The trailer lurched, and then they were off. They arrived a few hours later, cutting it close to the start of the race. Lightning brought Foxy out on his hood, and the two were instantly swamped by reporters with bright, flashing cameras.

"Lightning, how has your new pet affected your racing career?"

"What kind of animal is your new pet?"

"Did you have its ears and tail dyed to match your racing colors?" Lightning answered all the questions the reporters threw at him, and posed for a few pictures before he looked up as the 'Gentlemen, start your engines' was sounded. He set Foxy down beside Doc's pit crew podium, and got out into pit lane, starting up his engine with a loud rev. Foxy flinched as his engine startled her, and Doc looked down her way.

"You all right?"

She nodded sheepishly, grinning, and Doc chuckled.

Mater appeared on her other side. "Howdy, Foxy!" He gave her a buck-toothed grin, and she laughed silently before giving him a wave. He laughed, then parked at her side.

Lightning took off down pit row, and the race had begun. "Looks like that new pet of Lightning's is bringing him some good luck again, Darrel. He's already in the top ten from a starting position of twenty-eight."

"Either that Bob, or he's just a really great racer." The two announcers shared a laugh, then Foxy looked up to see herself on the giant screen again. This time, she grinned, and tried to ignore the fans cheering. Instead, she found herself watching the race more intently then she probably needed to. Gradually, the cameras switched back to the racers, and Fillmore nudged her. She looked over at him alertly, and he told her that Lightning's sponsors wanted to see her. She gave him a confused expression, then stood up and followed him as he led her back to the tent.

As soon as she entered the tent, she was crowded around by rusty cars of all makes and models, none of them new.

"Howdy there!"

Foxy looked up towards the back of the tent, and saw two old Dodge models standing on the stage. She smiled, then made her way through the crowd until she got to the stage. "We heard that you're the new mascot fer Lightning's team!" The two chorused, and Foxy nodded. "We think that there's a great idea! Don't we Dusty?" The car who looked to be a Dart asked the van.

"We sure do!"

Foxy smiled and blushed.

"Yer awfully quiet. Don't ya make some sort of sound or somethin'?" Foxy nodded, then pointed at her throat again but shook her head. "Ya can make noise, but ya lost yer voice?"

She nodded eagerly, and the two laughed. "Let's just hope that ya have yer voice back in time for the next race!" Foxy nodded in agreement, and the other cars honked their horns, trying to get her attention. She turned around, surprised. They were looking at her expectantly, and she smiled, then opened her mouth as she shrugged. "She can't do nothin' at the moment, since she lost her voice." There were 'Aww's and looks of sorrow from the crowd, and Foxy waved a hand, blushing. She stepped down from the stage, and was instantly swamped by the rusty cars.

"What's your name?"

"Do you like Lightning McQueen so much that you wanted to be his mascot?"

"Do the mascots get to ride in the racer's trailers?"

"Why can't you make any noise?"

Foxy began backing up slowly, an embarrassed smile forming on her lips. She couldn't respond, but they seemed to think she was fibbing. Eventually, she waved goodbye as they began to drift away. One of them, a truck named Fred, was very persistent, and kept bombarding her with questions until she gently set her hand on his hood, seeing that his front bumper would come completely off if she wasn't careful. He instantly quieted down, and looked down at her hand. His bumper dropped to the ground with a rusty CLANG, and Foxy backed away in fear, her hands flying to her mouth. She mouthed apologies to him as rapidly as she could, and he seemed to chuckle quietly.

The Dodge van seemed to notice that she was afraid that she had done something wrong, and nudged her. "That happens all the time, there's no need ter worry."

She mouthed 'Are you sure?' and he nodded.

"'Course I'm sure. No go on back ter McQueen's team. I'm sure they're lookin' fer ya." Foxy nodded, and hesitantly let her hand set on Fred's hood again before leaving the tent. As she was going back, she could hear the rusty cars all shouting and laughing. When she arrived back, she looked up at Doc curiously.

'_How many laps left?_' She mouthed, and he chuckled.

"Not too many. About a hundred and fifty."

Foxy smiled, then felt another nudge at her side. She looked and there was Mater, grinning. "Ya want another one of them hot dogs?" At Foxy's eager nod and grin, Mater departed for the hot dog vendor, and soon returned. He gave hers to her, and she sat down, leaning against his side as she ate her hot dog. They watched as Lightning and Chick battled for first, and Foxy shot up into the air and began yelling silently at Chick as he nudged Lightning, hopping up and down angrily. Doc laughed as he watched her bounce around, obviously knowing that she would've been screaming curses at the top of her voice if she still had it.

"Maybe that's a good thing that ya don't have your voice, Foxy." He told her, and she froze, mid-bounce, her mouth slightly open, ready to utter more silent curses. She sat back down in a hurry, grinning sheepishly as Mater and Doc laughed. Lightning came in for a pit stop, and he asked them what was so funny.

"Foxy's been sayin' some mighty bad things, buddy! At least, she was tryin' to." Mater laughed, and Lightning grinned in her direction before pulling out onto pit road, his pit stop finished.

He managed to get back into seventh place, and was quickly moving his way through the field of cars to catch up to Chick again.

"Sorry for nudging ya, McQueen." Chick told him when he had caught up, and Lightning grinned.

"It's all right. It gave Foxy something to get angry about."

"Really? I'm going to have to ask her about that later." The two laughed, then surged ahead, battling in a friendly way for first. Lightning won the race, and Chick came in second, even though the two were so close they almost had a tie. Lightning drove back into pit row, and Foxy limped out into pit row to congratulate him. She grinned as he stopped in front of her, then looked up as she heard 'Lightning's new pet'.

"Looks like Lightning's pet brought him some mighty good luck again, Darrel."

"Right you are, Bob, but I gotta say, does it look like she's limpin' a little?"

"Now that you mention it, she does look like she's limping. Let's just hope that she can recover by the next race." Foxy's eyes grew wide as they darted to the large screen as it played the recently taken video clip of her limping over to Lightning. Suddenly, they were swamped by reporters, wanting to know about why Foxy was limping, why she had become Lightning's team mascot, what Lightning thought about getting another win at a race. As the reporters all looked at her alertly, waiting to hear what she had to say, Lightning spoke up.

"She lost her voice recently, so she won't be able to answer any questions tonight."

"Maybe you could just do something to let us know that you're going to be all right?" One of the younger reporters, a small male Mini Cooper asked hopefully. Foxy looked back at Lightning, who grinned. Foxy nodded, then set her hand on the Mini Cooper's hood. Without thinking, she leaned down and gently kissed his hood, sending him into an astounded silence, a large, dreamy grin on his face. The others burst into laughter, and the Mini Cooper was pushed away by the rest of the reporters.

"Nice one!" Lightning laughed, and she grinned, blushing slightly. She eased her way onto his hood, and yawned soon after. "Looks like someone needs sleep." Lightning laughed. Once the two were out of earshot of the others, he whispered that he didn't think that kissing was so exhausting.

**Looks like Foxy's escapades got her into a pretty bad position: No voice to talk with! XD By the way, the italics are Foxy's thoughts. I thought I'd let you see what she's thinking about, and it's actually somewhat sane. :D Anyways, I cut my finger pretty badly yesterday *whimperwhimper* and it's in the worst possible spot, so if this chapter is a little short, that's why. I'm going to be busy tomorrow, so I uploaded a day early. Hope you guys don't mind, and if you do, I'll give you the bestest hug ever to make up for it. :3 See ya next week, Liz **

**P.S.: My laptop is really broken, so no stories other then the ones I've got on my desktop. **

**P.P.S: Any suggestions for a good used car? Price range is about five thousand dollars. (P.P. - XD Mater references!)**


	24. Fillmore Hears the Truth

Foxy's jaw dropped instantly, and she slapped him on the hood. He burst out laughing, and Foxy gave him a look. "I was only joking, jeez. If anyone should know about that, it's me." As he realized what he had said, he gradually turned even redder then his paintjob. Foxy laid back on his hood, laughing silently, but he could tell that she was laughing as hard as she possibly could. "Knock it off!" Lightning shot back, laughing a little himself. Foxy shook her head, not laughing anymore.

Once they reached the trailer, Lightning parked on the bed, Foxy rolling off his hood and landing on the mattress, instantly sinking into the blanket. "Here, get up a sec." Foxy looked at him with sleepy-eyed annoyance, but she clambered off the bed. Lightning held the blanket up so she could scramble underneath it, and she smiled at him before vanishing underneath it. Her ear hat popped up at the head of the mattress, and Lightning laughed. He climbed underneath the blanket himself, and accidentally poked his wheel into her side. She squirmed around rapidly, her hand accidentally hitting him in the side. "Ouch!" He laughed, watching her scramble around under the mattress.

She froze, then laid back down at his side, curled up into a ball. He hesitantly ran his wheel along her spine gently, and heard a quiet sigh. He grinned, then began running his wheel down her spine a little harder. Soon, he heard what sounded like a tiny engine running, and looked around, thinking that there was a baby car in the trailer. He took his wheel away from Foxy, and the noises stopped. He ran his wheel along her spine again, and the noise started up again. He chuckled, then continued running his wheel down her spine and back up again. Foxy was fast asleep, purring every time she felt his tire on his back and imagining that Fillmore was petting her.

The next morning, she awoke in the trailer next to Lightning, who was watching television at a low volume. "Morning, Kitten." He teased, grinning wickedly. Foxy rolled her eyes, then looked around for something. Lightning gave her a confused look, and she rolled her eyes upwards, then mimed writing. "Oh, sure. Here." Lightning pushed a pad of stationery with his face in one corner, complete with matching pencil, her way, and she began writing rapidly.

After a few minutes, she pushed the pad back his way. Written in a neat and tidy feminine hand was the sentence: '_I'm not a cat, I'm a fox, remember?_ '

Lightning chuckled, then replied, "Your purring says otherwise."

Foxy looked at him in horror, then began writing again. '_What do you mean 'my purring'? Wait... I was purring again, wasn't I?_ '

Lightning grinned. "You should change your fox to a cat, that way it'll fit better."

Foxy shook her head, then wrote, '_Domesticated foxes purr when they're happy. I'm a domesticated fox, hence the collar._ '

Lightning nodded in understanding. "So complicated." He snickered, and Foxy shot him a wry grin.

'_Hey, what time is it?_ '

"About ten, why?"

'_Just wondering. I got up late today._ '

Lightning nodded, and Foxy settled back into the bed, purring softly as she squirmed her way under the blanket. Lightning happened to glance over her way about a half an hour later, and laughed. She was completely covered up in the blanket, just the tips of her toes sticking out from underneath it. "Having fun?" Her hands shot out from under the blanket, searching for the pad. Lightning pushed it her way, and she began writing. She pushed it his way, and as he read it, he laughed.

'_Yeah. Your blanket is really comfortable. Can I keep it?_ ' There was a smiley face after her recent message, and Lightning chuckled.

"No, I'm afraid not. And how did you learn to write without looking, anyways?"

'_I've always been able to do it. Not really sure why, or how, but I think it's kind of cool. And share the love of the blanket, man!_ '

Lightning laughed as he read it, then looked at the lump in his blanket. "What are you, Fillmore's twin sister?"

Foxy bolted up from underneath the blanket, and fixed him with a slightly icy stare.

He saw that he had touched a nerve, and offered her a sheepish expression. "Sorry." She nodded, then curled up in his bed again, rolling over until she was lying on her back. "So, this is just a question, but did anything happen while the two of you were in the cave? N-Not like that, but talking about stuff, stuff like that?" Foxy looked over at him, trying to determine if he was serious or not, and he was. She shook her head, and Lightning sighed. "Figured. You two looked like you were both too busy. You two really need to tell each other."

'_What if Fillmore doesn't like me that way? What if I tell him, and he and I have a really awkward friendship the rest of the time I'm here? What if he just says that he doesn't like me like that?_ '

"Trust me, you two should just make out already. You're about as close as you're going to get without actually saying something."

'_You really think so?_ ' Lightning nodded, and Foxy sighed.

'_Maybe you're right. Maybe I should take him up to Wheel Well, get really drunk, then confess it to him._ ' Lightning laughed, shaking his hood. "Only you would be able to pull that off, Foxy." He replied, and she grinned. The two settled down to watch television, which Foxy found fascinating, since everything was done by cars. They reached the town the next day, and Foxy limped down the ramp, blinking in the early morning sunlight.

"Morning, Foxy." Flo called, and Foxy waved. The others were grinning, and Foxy had no idea why.

"Nice goin' with that reporter, dude!" Wingo exclaimed suddenly, and the other three tuners exploded with laughter. Foxy blushed, and sat down at Fillmore's side, facing away from them.

"Come on, man. It was pretty funny." Fillmore nudged her gently in the side with a tire, and she looked up at him with a smile, still slightly blushing.

"Someone loves my blanket." Lightning muttered to Ramone, nodding over in Foxy's direction. Ramone laughed, then grinned as Foxy looked over his way in confusion.

"What you did to that reporter was pure gold, darlin'." She looked, and saw Strip parked in Sarge's vacant spot, instead of Chick. She blushed a deeper shade of red, grinning sheepishly. He chuckled, and nudged her gently with a tire. Flo set her coffee down at her side, and she drank it down quickly.

'_It's delicious, Flo._' Foxy wrote, showing the pad to Flo, who laughed gently.

"Looks like you've found yourself a way to talk, honey." Foxy nodded quickly, grinning, and Flo laughed.

"You can write, man?"

'_I sure can, Fillmore._ '

The others all chuckled, and Fillmore nodded. "Far out, man."

'_Yeah, it sure is! You want to go up to Wheel Well sometime?_ '

"Sure, sounds groovy." Fillmore replied, nudging her gently in the side with a tire. She flinched away from his tire suddenly, trying not to laugh. The others all chuckled, and Foxy grinned. She took off her shoes again, curling up at Fillmore's side.

He absentmindedly began petting her, running his wheel down her spine, and once again, she began purring, only this time, much louder. Lightning looked over her way and grinned.

"What's that?" Sally asked, looking around.

"It sounds like a cat!" Harry giggled, looking around for a stray cat. Lightning shook his hood, then pointed over to Foxy, who was curled up into a ball. She looked up in confusion, almost asleep.

"She purrs?" Wingo asked DJ, laughing. Strip chuckled, then began running his wheel down her spine gently. Again she began purring, this time softer.

"Far out." Fillmore nodded, then began running his wheel down her spine again, making her purr louder.

"I thought only cats can purr?"

'_Domesticated foxes, like my furry form, can purr._ '

"Really? Impressive."

'_I'm going to sleep now. Night._ '

"Don't ya mean, 'Mornin'?" Strip asked teasingly, and she stuck her tongue out at him, laughing silently.

'_You know what I mean._ '

Strip chuckled, and Foxy curled up at Fillmore's side again, snuggling against him. He ran his wheel along her back again, listening to her purr contentedly, just like an overly large cat. She woke up about three hours later, and Fillmore chuckled.

"Have a nice nap, man?" He teased gently, and she grinned. Lightning grinned over at her strangely, and she looked over at him in confusion. He nodded his hood towards the radio on Lizzie's porch, where the announcer was announcing the name of a song.

"And here ya go, Mr. McQueen of Arizona! 'Listen To Your Heart' by Roxette!"

Foxy shot him a murderous look, and he returned an equally evil, wry grin her way. The song began playing, and Lightning snuggled closer to Sally, smiling in much the same way that the small Mini Cooper had when Foxy had kissed him, a dreamy, not-entirely-on-earth smile. Fillmore nudged Foxy gently, and she looked his way, grinning as she also watched Lightning and Sally, who were steadily getting closer and closer together.

"Ya want to go up to Wheel Well, man?" She nodded, then stood up, Fillmore driving alongside her. They made their way to Wheel Well, then stopped a few feet from the edge. Unbeknownst to them, DJ had crept up after them, and had snuck inside Wheel Well, over to his DJ station.

He picked out the same song that they were playing down in the town, but turned it up louder, so that it flowed out of Wheel Well. He could see that things were likely to heat up between Fillmore and Foxy, and he was trying to light the flame. The two looked out over the horizon, sitting side by side.

'_I know there's something in the wake of your smile. I get a notion from the look in your eyes, yeah. You've built a love, but that love falls apart. Your little piece of heaven turns too dark. Listen to your heart, when he's calling for you, listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do. I don't know where you're going, and I don't know why, but listen to your heart before you tell him goodbye. Sometimes you wonder if this fight is worthwhile. The precious moments are all lost in the tide, yeah. They're swept away and nothing is what it seems, the feeling of belonging to your dreams! Listen to your heart, when he's calling for you! Listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do. I don't know where you're going, and I don't know why, but listen to your heart before you tell him goodbye._'

Foxy snuggled closer to Fillmore's side, and he leaned against her side gently before pulling her closer with a tire.

'_And there are voices that want to be heard, So much to mention, but you can't find the words. The scent of magic, the beauty that's been, when love was wilder then the wind! Listen to your heart, when he's calling for you! Listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do! I don't know where you're going, and I don't know why, but listen to your heart before, ohh! Listen to your heart, when he's calling for you! Listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do. I don't know where you're going, and I don't know why, but listen to your heart before you tell him goodbye._'

As the song faded out, Fillmore and Foxy were snuggled up to one another, looking out at the cliffs shaped like the front ends of cars, and the horizon, where they could see the road as it turned and curved. DJ grinned, then began playing 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight'.

'_I can see what's happening. What? And they don't have a clue. Who? They'll fall in love and here's the bottom line. Our trio's down to two. Oh. Ze sweet caress of twilight. There's magic everywhere. And with all this romantic atmosphere, DISASTER'S in the air. Can you feel the love tonight? The peace the evening brings. The world, for once, in perfect harmony, with all its living things. So many things to tell her. But how to make her see, the truth about my past? Impossible! She'd turn away from me. He's holding back, he's hiding. But what, I can't decide. Why won't he be the king I know he is, the king I see inside? Can you feel the love tonight? The peace the evening brings. The world for once, in perfect harmony, with all its living things. Can you feel the love tonight? You needn't look too far. Stealing through the night's uncertainties, love is where they are. And if he falls in love tonight, it can be assumed his carefree days with us are history. In short, our palll, is doooomed._ '

DJ was trying to contain his snickers as he watched the two getting snuggly outside.

'_It's really nice up here. I was thinking that you could see for about ten, twenty miles up here. _'

"Couldn't agree more, man." Fillmore replied. He looked over towards Wheel Well, and decided to go with his plan. "C'mon, man, I wanna show ya something." She got up and hobbled after him, trying not to grin. DJ heard the two coming towards the bar area, and he hid behind his equipment. "Ya like beer, man?" Fillmore's voice was heard as he switched the lights on in the area.

'Crap...' DJ thought bitterly, trying to scramble out the door without them seeing him. He succeeded, and sped back towards town as fast as he could. Back at Wheel Well, Foxy had about half a beer, and soon discovered that she had a voice, but it was extremely hoarse. She drunkenly held up her fists to a tall can of oil, squaring up against it, trying to pick a fight.

"What're you lookin' at?!" She exclaimed, and growled at the can. She spotted Fillmore, although she quickly began seeing two of him. "Hey, hey, hey, hey. You two." She mumbled, pointing to Fillmore and the open space slightly to his left.

"Yeah, man?"

"You two are twins, aren't you?" She giggled shrilly, her eyes rolling. She sank down to the floor, still holding her glass of beer. She chugged it, then set it down at her side. Fillmore shook his front end in bewilderment. He hadn't meant for her to get this drunk. "Hey, hey, hey, hey. I've got a seeecret. You want to hear it?" She giggled again, and Fillmore rolled closer to her side.

"What's your secret, man?" He asked, confused.

"I think me and, and that green car, not the lady, but the man would make a really great couple. But SHHHHH, it's a seeecret! That means that you can't tell the chickens to go to applesauce!" Fillmore chuckled, then her words processed in his mind.

"Are ya talkin' about Chick?"

"No, not the chicken with the moustache. I'm talking about the van! I think you and him are twins, 'cause you two look a lot alike."

Fillmore smiled down at her. "Yeah, man. He's my twin."

"What's his name? Isn't it like Philip or something?" He could barely suppress a laugh, then nodded.

"Yeah, that's him, man."

"We should go meet him!" She croaked with a hiccup after drinking more beer, a large, drunken grin appearing on her face. She unsteadily got to her feet, and Fillmore rolled to her side, trying to prevent her from toppling over. She limped back towards town, and sat down over at Flo's with the others, remaining mainly quiet. Fillmore parked beside her, and she grinned drunkenly. "Hi, Chicken!" She exclaimed, waving at Chick.

"Those jokes are getting really old, Foxy." He sighed, and she laughed wildly.

"What's with her? And when did she get her voice back?" Wingo asked. Lightning was studying Foxy so intently that Sally made him jump slightly when she snuggled into his side. Foxy tried to put her overly large sweatshirt on, and ended up putting it on backwards. Thankfully, nobody else noticed except Fillmore, and he gently pushed her down onto the pavement, casually putting the hood up over her face.

"Take a nap, man. Ya had a long day."

"Okay. Goodnight." She replied, her voice muffled.

"Thunder, go get Foxy, but take her over to my cone, all right?" Lightning muttered, his voice barely carrying to Thunder, who nodded slightly, then stretched and got up. He trotted over to Fillmore, and nudged Foxy upright. She scrambled onto his back, holding onto his collar.

"Heigh-ho, Silver!" She exclaimed drunkenly, and Thunder trotted back into Lightning's cone with her. Lightning kissed Sally's fender after saying goodnight, then drove over to his cone as well. He entered the living room to find Foxy passed out on the couch, and Thunder in his room. He looked Foxy over, and decided that she was drunk. He hadn't thought that she was going to actually do it.

**Hi, everyone! :D Hope you enjoy this chapter! :D :D ~Liz**


	25. Poor Foxy

He woke her up with some difficulty, and she looked up at him. "What do you want, ma'am?"

"I wanted to know if you asked Fillmore yet."

Foxy nodded drunkenly, and replied, "I sure did, lady. Now I'm just gonna go to sleep here in this barstool if you don't mind me."

"Go right ahead." Lightning laughed, and Foxy fell back asleep in a few seconds. "I didn't think that she was THAT tired." He gently tossed a blanket over her, then departed for his own bedroom.

The next morning, Lightning awoke to the sounds of the garage door going up, then quickly closing. He went back to sleep, only to hear it again about ten minutes later. He blinked sleepily, then rolled out of bed, going out into the main room. There, he found Foxy laying under the blanket with it up over her head. He figured that she was awake, since he hadn't put it like that the night before. He rolled over to her slowly, and nudged her gently. "You awake?"

She moaned for an answer and rolled over.

"I don't want to be a spoilsport, but the second time is never the best time." He got another moan from Foxy, then she sat up. She looked like she was paler then usual, and this struck Lightning as odd.

"Whatever you do, don't go looking behind the cone anytime soon."

"Why not?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know the reason why."

"I think I can handle it."

"Let's just say that if you eat before you go look, you're going to lose your breakfast."

"That bad, huh?" He got a slow nod from Foxy, then she laid down again, pulling the blanket over her head again. "I'll go get you a coffee, in case you want it." He got a moan as a response, and sighed. He departed the cone, and headed over to Flo's.

"Mornin', Lightning honey."

"Morning, Flo." He gave her a smile, which she returned.

"What was the matter with Foxy last night?" Sheriff asked, giving Lightning an appraising look.

"She must've gotten into some sugar or something." He replied airily, and ordered a coffee for Foxy. He took it back over, and found Thunder on the couch behind Foxy, his muzzle lying on her side gently. He looked up when Lightning rolled into the room, his tail wagging gently, fanning the air. Lightning greeted him, then set Foxy's coffee down on the table. Foxy rolled over to face him, her eyes drooping sleepily. He gently ruffled her hair with a tire and she moaned quietly.

Thunder whined quietly, then laid his muzzle on her side again.

"Thanks, Lightning."

"You're welcome." He gave her a soft smile, then looked over at her cup of black coffee. "You want your coffee?"

"Sure. Thanks." She sat up shakily, then took the cup as he handed it to her. She took a sip, then seemed to relax. "Nothing like a good cup of coffee after a crappy night, right?"

Lightning nodded, glad to know that she seemed to be feeling more awake. Thunder crawled out from behind her and laid at her side.

"Thank you, Thunder." She smiled down at him faintly, petting his side. He licked her hand, his tail wagging.

"Looks like your secret is not a secret anymore, at least not to Fillmore." Lightning told her, and she froze, just about to take another sip of her coffee.

"What are you saying?" She asked, her eyes instantly becoming confused and worried.

"You were really drunk last night, and when I asked you about it, you said that you'd told him."

Her eyes grew wide with panic and fear, and she set her coffee down. Suddenly, she didn't want to drink it any more. "Wh-What do I do? If he knows, then..." She began shaking slightly, and Thunder whined, laying his head on her leg. She petted him absentmindedly, her fearful green eyes looking into Lightning's blue ones.

"You've already told him, at least that's one thing you don't need to worry about. It should be fine, especially if he feels the same."

Foxy sighed, then laid down on the couch again. "Why is it always me?"

Lightning chuckled, then nudged her gently. "I used to say the same thing."

"Really?"

Lightning nodded, then nudged her again, his eyes turning more serious. "You need to be more careful about getting drunk. Sheriff nearly caught you this time."

Foxy nodded, then placed her hands over her eyes.

"I told him it was just a sugar high."

"Thanks for that."

"Sure."

She sat up, then grabbed her coffee. She felt like she needed a whole sinkful of coffee.

Mariana and Jack came into the room, looking for Thunder. "Morning, Foxy." Mariana smiled, and was slightly confused when she got a slightly shaky "Good morning." as a response. "You okay?" She asked, rolling over to the couch.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just sleepy yet."

"Are you sure? You don't seem very sleepy."

"I was just up late last night, that's all." Foxy glanced over at Lightning, who smiled gently.

"All right. You just seem different today, that's all." Foxy got a friendly nudge from Mariana, and smiled. Thunder licked Mariana's hood, making her squeal loudly and start giggling. Foxy cringed slightly at the noise, and Lightning watched her worriedly.

"Why don't you three go play outside?" He suggested cheerfully, and they trooped outside, leaving him and Foxy alone. "You sure you're all right?"

Foxy nodded silently, then laid back down again on the couch, yawning. "I'm going back to sleep." She told him, and he chuckled.

"All right then. I'll be over at Flo's, and so will the others." Foxy nodded with a smile, then curled up and fell asleep. Lightning drove outside quietly, trying not to wake her up.

"Where's Foxy, man?" Fillmore asked, looking around as though he suspected Foxy of hiding again.

"She's still sleeping." Lightning replied, and Fillmore figured something wasn't right, but didn't speak his thoughts.

Foxy awoke a few hours later, moaning in slight annoyance at the beam of sunlight shining into her eyes. She pulled her blanket over her head more, then rolled over and fell back asleep. She soon woke up again, looking around for her coffee. She spotted it on the table, and shakily reached out a hand for it. She hadn't noticed Thunder lying at her side, and jumped as she saw him, his tail wagging slowly.

"Hi, Thunder." She gave him a small, weak smile, then took a gulp from her now-cold coffee.

He wagged his tail slightly faster, laying his head on his paws as he watched her.

"I can trust you, right?"

He looked up alertly, pricking his ears and tilting his head. He woofed quietly, and she gave him a small smile.

"Of course I can. All you have to do is not tell anyone, and you can do that, no sweat, right?"

Thunder woofed again, his tail wagging faster, and Foxy smiled.

"All right. This is the second time I've gotten drunk on beer, and where I come from, I'm not exactly allowed to drink beer."

He nudged her gently, and she guessed he was asking why.

"In my world, humans have to be twenty-one to drink beer, and I'm only seventeen."

Thunder laid his head on her leg, gazing into her green eyes with his dark brown ones.

"Thanks for letting me talk, Thunder." She sighed heavily, and hesitantly gave him a hug.

She had read that most dogs didn't like hugs, and was pleasantly surprised when Thunder put his muzzle onto her shoulder, his tail wagging rapidly.

"You're such a great friend." She whispered, gently fondling his ears.

He licked her ear, making her laugh and draw back.

"Not a Wet Willie!" She giggled, rubbing her ear. Thunder barked, jumping down off the couch. Foxy gulped down the rest of her coffee quickly, and stood up, ready to go outside. She sank to the ground abruptly, her eyes rolling around dizzily in her head. Thunder yelped in alarm, and charged over to her side. She shook her head like a dog trying to rid its ears of water, and her eyes stopped rolling around like marbles. "I'm okay. Just stood up too fast." She told him, then stood up, this time more slowly. Thunder whined and nudged her hip with his muzzle. "I'm okay, really." She convinced him, and he trotted towards the door, trying to keep her in sight. She limped along after him, then her already-pale face paled even more, and she sped up, biting her lip.

"Thunder, stay." She told him in a rushed, desperate tone, and he hesitated before sitting down where he was. She rushed past him, hobbling as fast as she could. He whined, but didn't get up from where he was told to stay. He heard her rush around the back of the cone, then didn't hear her any more.

She had raced around the back of the cone when she felt like she was going to vomit up the very coffee she had just drank. She had just reached the same spot as before when it came back up her throat, hot and burning. She was thankful that the cones were large enough to hide her completely from view as she felt the irrepressible urge to vomit again, but this time, there was nothing left except that horrible taste in her mouth and the feeling that she was going to die in this place, no matter what happened.

She moaned, then limped hastily back into Lightning's cone.

"I don't think I'm going to be going outside for a while, Thunder. If you want to go outside, you can." She told him hoarsely, limping slowly back to the sofa, that battery acid-like taste in her mouth, which was dry. Thunder whined softly, then followed her into the room. When she laid down, he laid down behind her, gently setting his muzzle on her hip and gazing at her worriedly.

She weakly asked Thunder to lift his head a minute, then pulled the blanket over herself more. Thunder set his head back down on her hip as she curled up with a quiet moan.

"Foxy hasn't been out all day. Are you sure she's all right?"

"Sure she is! She's probably just cleaning up in there, since it's a mess." Lightning replied, although there was a large amount of doubt in his voice.

"Mind if I go in to check on her, Stickers?"

"Of course not, Sal. I'll come with you." He offered her a smile, then the two departed Flo's for his cone. The door opened, and Thunder looked up alertly. He looked down at Foxy, who was sleeping, then jumped over her and raced out into the hallway, looking at who was coming into the cone. When he saw that it was Lightning and Sally, he wagged his tail, then darted into the living room.

Lightning gave Sally a smile, then said, "See? Thunder's taking care of her." They rolled into the living room, and Lightning nudged Foxy gently. "That's weird." He muttered, pulling back when she moaned quietly in her sleep and rolled over, facing the back of the sofa.

"What's weird?" Sally asked, looking between him and Foxy worriedly.

"She feels hotter then usual." Lightning replied, gently nuzzling Foxy and feeling that abnormal heat again.

"Is that good or bad?"

"I'm not sure, but if she's been asleep all day, I would think that's bad." Lightning replied, biting his lip worriedly.

"Maybe we should go get Doc." Sally replied anxiously. Thunder whined softly, gently laying a paw over Foxy as he rolled onto his side.

"Thunder, stay here with her, all right? If she tries to go anywhere, go with her, even if she says not to."

Thunder nodded sharply, then Lightning and Sally departed Lightning's cone to go find Doc.

"You look around town, and I'll look down at the Butte."

Sally nodded, then began looking around the town. Lightning raced towards the Butte, his thoughts a constant repetition of '_What's the matter with Foxy?_ ' He slid to a stop as he saw a darker blue blur driving around the track. "Doc!" Lightning shouted at the top of his voice, trying to get Doc's attention. Lightning sighed with relief as Doc slowed down, then stopped at the starting line.

"What is it, Rookie?"

"Foxy."

Doc dipped his hood in a quick nod, then the two drove back towards town quickly. "Where is she?"

"In my cone, she hasn't moved all day, at least I don't think so."

"Why weren't you staying with her?"

"She had fallen asleep earlier this morning, so I left her sleep."

Doc glanced over in Lightning's direction, but didn't say a word. The two drove into Lightning's cone, where Thunder looked up from the couch, but didn't get up.

"It doesn't look like she's moved." Lightning said quietly, and Thunder whined. "She looks like she's been asleep all morning, Doc."

"She normally wouldn't be."

Lightning nodded, then looked to Thunder, who gently nudged Foxy towards Lightning. Lightning gently picked her limp form up and set her on his hood. He looked down at her worriedly as he felt the heat from her body spread across his hood. "She feels really warm, too." He replied, and began following Doc out of the cone.

At a sharp yip, he turned around to see Thunder running towards him. "All right, you can come."

Thunder jumped onto Lightning's hood, and wasted no time in curling up around Foxy. Doc looked over at Foxy worriedly, then the two rolled into his clinic.

About a half an hour later, he was still not sure what was wrong with Foxy, and Thunder wasn't helping by curling up around her and setting his muzzle on her side while Doc was trying to figure it out. She abruptly woke up, moaning hoarsely at the bitter taste in her mouth. "Foxy, don't sit up, all right?" Lightning told her worriedly, and she didn't even move very much, just curled up and drifted back into a dozing state. "At least she's awake. That's good, right?" He asked, looking from Foxy to Doc worriedly.

"Possibly. I'm not completely sure what's the matter with her, except that her temperature's up higher then it usually is, and that she's been sleeping more then normal." Thunder whined softly, setting his muzzle at Foxy's side. He wanted to know what was the matter with Foxy already. "I've got one possible idea, but there's some symptoms that aren't showing themselves." Doc muttered, thinking hard, and Lightning looked down at Foxy worriedly.

"Thunder, if you wouldn't mind, get down for a sec." Thunder obediently jumped down from Lightning's hood, and Foxy began shaking with cold. Doc watched her intently, then nodded.

"That's what it is. She'll be all right in a few days, take her back over to your cone."

"So you know what's wrong with her?"

"I've got a good idea."

Thunder jumped back up onto Lightning's hood, curling up around Foxy again. Lightning rolled out of Doc's, looking down at Foxy in slight relief. At least they had found out what was wrong. He gently set Foxy on the couch in his cone, covering her with the blanket again. She moaned hoarsely, but barely stirred. Thunder jumped onto the couch by her feet, then slowly walked back towards her head until he was behind her. He laid down again, setting his head on her side gently. Lightning smiled down at Thunder, then gently ruffled his ears.

"Good boy, Thunder. I'm going to go tell Sally that she's all right, or will be, anyways." Thunder was already dozing, his paw laid protectively over Foxy as she dozed into a deeper sleep. Lightning grinned, then left his cone quietly.

"Is she going to be all right?" Sally asked worriedly, and Lightning nodded.

"At least, that's what Doc said."

Fillmore looked their way worriedly, but didn't say anything.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(Page Break, completely different thought)**

About an hour later, Fillmore went back to his dome, and stopped abruptly. He heard a shrill chirping. Normally he would've thought it was a cricket, but it sounded... different. He began looking around, and was slightly startled when a dark shape jumped out of the patch of grass he had been searching. He rolled slightly closer, and found a frog. "Hey, man." He replied, smiling down at the frog. It let out another shrill chirp, and Fillmore lowered his front end, looking down at it in slight amusement.

"C'mere, man. I don't bite." The frog obediently hopped over his way, and he held out a tire for the frog to jump onto. It suddenly hopped off towards his right, and he followed it. "I ain't gonna hurt ya, man." He tried to convince the frog that he was harmless, but the frog turned around and hopped back the way it had come. "Hey, come back." Fillmore told it, following after it. He caught up to it quickly, and tried to grab it as gently as possible.

The frog had other ideas however, and slipped through Fillmore's tires as he jumped away. "C'mere! I like frogs, man!" His voice carried over to Sarge, who scowled over in his direction.

"Keep it down, hippie!"

"No way, I think this frog is kinda deaf, man!" Fillmore told Sarge, who rolled his eyes.

"Frogs can't be deaf, hippie."

"How do you know?" Fillmore shot back, then continued calling and chasing the frog.

Sarge sighed, shaking his hood in disgust. He finished lowering the flag, then rolled into his Hut.

Chick passed by Fillmore's dome on his way to his trailer, and heard Fillmore yelling.

"What is it?"

"It's a frog, man!"

Chick nearly burst out laughing. He rolled over to where Fillmore had cornered the frog, and was now trying to pick it up. "No, that's not how you do it. You've got to be gentler."

Fillmore tried picking the frog up again, and this time, it didn't jump out of his tires. "Thanks, man."

"No problem. I used to catch frogs all the time when I was a kid."

Fillmore gently held the frog in is tire as he went to go get a container to put it in.

"You're going to keep it?"

"Yeah, man. Why not?"

"It's a frog."

"Okay." Fillmore replied with a shrug, and Chick sighed.

"Unless you've got water around here, you won't be able to keep him for very long."

"No problem, man."

"All right, then enjoy your... new pet." Chick sighed again, rolling out of Fillmore's and back to his trailer. Fillmore put the frog into a bucket, then placed a net over it so the frog couldn't get out. He decided that he was going to give the frog to Foxy when she was feeling better. "Night, man." He called to the frog, and got silence. He laid down at Foxy's chair as he usually did out of habit, then drifted off to sleep.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(Bit of comic relief, now back to Foxy)**

Over in Lightning's cone, Foxy rolled over in her sleep, moaning quietly. She cracked her eyes open again, feeling more awful then she had ever felt. She felt movement at her feet, and began getting up weakly. She heard a whimper, a jingle, then there was a paw placed on her shoulder, gently pinning her down. "All right, I'm not getting up." She croaked, and recieved a gentle lick before she felt the firmness in the paw relax. She sighed, then faintly remembered Lightning telling Thunder to keep her there, lying down. She winced as she got a slight headache, then rolled over, pressing her face against Thunder's side. The fact that he was there made her feel slightly better, and she drifted back into an uneasy sleep.

Lightning came in, and saw her sleeping. "Is that all she's going to do until she gets better?" Lightning whispered to Thunder, who whimpered before laying his muzzle down on Foxy's side again. Lightning gently ruffled her bangs after giving her a sympathetic nuzzle, and was surprised when she awoke and yawned, cringing as her throat felt like it was being slashed apart slowly. "You feeling any better then before?"

Foxy shook her head, moaning as she got a headache.

"Think you'd be up to drinking a little coffee or not?"

Foxy shook her head again, and asked in a hoarse, raspy moan if there was any water around.

Lightning nodded, then left to get some for her. He returned shortly, and she took the cup off his hood.

"Thanks." She croaked before taking a sip. It burned her throat, but her mouth was so dry she would've tried to drink oil if she would've been close to a can. "Thanks, Lightning." She croaked in a whisper, and Lightning smiled at her sadly.

"No problem. You want anything else?" Foxy shook her head, then snuggled back under the blanket to fall asleep. Thunder continued laying at her side, acting like a heating blanket. Lightning smiled, then nudged her gently. She cracked her eyes open to look at him drowsily. "Get better, all right? The others miss you."

Foxy smiled weakly, then gently set her hand on his hood. "I'll try."

Lightning shook his hood. "Don't try. Just do it."

Foxy smiled a little more, then nodded slightly. "Okay."

"Good." Lightning smiled, then watched quietly as she curled up under the blanket. He went for another blanket, and soon returned. He draped the heavy fleece blanket over Foxy's now-dozing form, and she didn't even stir. He sighed, then fell asleep at her other side.

The next morning, he awoke to... nothing. Absolute silence. He happened to glance over at the couch, and found Foxy missing, the blankets messily tossed up, and Thunder was gone too. Lightning relaxed slightly when he saw that Thunder had disappeared also, because he knew that wherever Foxy had gone to, the giant dog was sure to be right by her side. He went looking for her desperately, and found her coming around the back of a cone, Thunder following after. "You all right?" He asked, his eyes filled with concern.

She nodded slowly, then replied in a rusty croak, "What, can't a girl use the facilities without getting twenty questions?" and Lightning knew that she was trying to cheer him up.

Her entire form looked like it was drooping because of her illness, even her hair losing its perfect waves and silky smooth texture. "Come on, let's get you back inside." He said gently, and she climbed onto his hood without a second thought, curling up and shivering. Thunder jumped up onto Lightning's hood and curled around her, gently resting his head on her side. She uttered a moan that sounded more like a whimper, and Lightning glanced down at her in pity before rolling back inside his cone. Just as Foxy pulled the blankets back over herself, there was a banging at the door.

Lightning went to go answer it, and found Red parked there, blushing. "Here to see Foxy?" Lightning asked after greeting him, and he nodded. "I'll go get her." Lightning rolled back into the room, then gently nudged Foxy. "Seems like you've got a visitor."

"Who is it?"

"It's a surprise."

Foxy moaned, but climbed onto Lightning's hood anyways. Lightning rolled out into the main room, and Red waved a tire shyly.

"Hi, Red." Foxy croaked with a weak smile, and Red watched her with his sadder-then-ever brown eyes. He shyly produced a small bouquet of wildflowers, blushing bright red. "Thanks, Red." Foxy managed a small, weak smile, even though she felt awful. The flowers had cheered her up greatly, and Red noticed, because he rolled forwards slightly, and gently petted Foxy's hair with a tire, softly enough that Foxy felt no pain even though her head was aching fit to explode. She leaned against his tire more, purring quietly and drooping her eyelids shut as Red continued petting her, content for the moment to be fussed over. Red gently slid her from Lightning's hood, and cradled her in a tire, where she curled up, yawning even though her throat ached. She felt safe with Red, safe enough to fall asleep in his grasp. She didn't even feel herself being hugged gently by Red before he set her on Lightning's hood again.

Lightning watched with a grin, knowing that Red cared about Foxy a lot, and would be heartbroken if Foxy ever left the town.

Red blushed, hesitated for a few seconds, then sped off back towards the firehouse. Lightning chuckled, then drove back inside with Foxy still asleep on his hood. He gently set her on the couch, and Thunder laid down behind her again.

Together, the two pulled her blankets over her, then Lightning departed the room, leaving Thunder to be her heating blanket, at least for a while. She woke up briefly a few hours later, but only for a few minutes, just long enough for her to roll over and hug Thunder like a stuffed animal. She fell asleep hugging him, and his tail wagged. Lightning drove into the room, and saw the two playmates snuggled together. He grinned, then drove over to pet each gently before driving out of the cone. Thunder fell asleep himself soon afterwards, and woke up to Foxy still asleep, hugging him to her. He settled underneath the blankets more, then fell asleep again. Foxy woke up later that evening, looking around drowsily.

She had heard a noise, and couldn't discern where it had come from. She felt a gentle nudge at her back that told her Thunder had gotten up also, and he whined. "I heard something." She told him, and he suddenly pricked his ears up fully, so they looked like bat ears. He jumped down from the couch and charged into the next room. Foxy thought she heard him growling as he left. His loud barking startled her, and apparently Mariana, since she sped into the room, then jumped up, snuggling close to Foxy.

Foxy comforted Mariana the best she could, then asked in a raspy, dry voice what had happened.

Mariana replied, "I saw something scary out my window!"

"What did it look like?"

"It was gigantic, and it had these two things on either side of its body, and it had hooks for feet, I think. And it was covered in something weird looking. Not exactly fur, but not exactly metal, either."

"That sounds like an owl. It's okay. They don't hurt you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, they're really cool." Thunder trotted into the room, then jumped back up onto the couch, nuzzling Mariana gently. "Night, Mariana." Foxy offered her a weak smile, and Mariana nodded.

"Night, Foxy. Night Thunder." Mariana got down from the couch, then departed the room. Thunder laid back down behind Foxy, who smiled and patted him gently. Foxy laid back down, then Thunder gently laid his muzzle down on her side, placing a front paw over her side protectively. Foxy yawned widely, her throat aching again, then pulled the blankets over her and Thunder.

"Night, Thunder." She saw his tail wag a couple times, then they drifted off to sleep.

**Aww, poor Foxy. I was sort of going for the Get-A-Hangover-And-A-Cold/Stomach-Bug-At-The-Same- Time sort of thing, even though it might be completely impossible... Anyways, how'd you all like the bit with Fillmore Vs. the Frog? He pops up in another chapter, so don't worry. :) See you next week, Liz**


	26. The Escapade of the Frogs

In the morning, Foxy woke up to Lightning nudging her gently. "What? What? Someone get the sheriff." She mumbled, looking around drowsily.

Lightning chuckled, then continued nudging her.

"I'm awake, I'm awake." She groaned, looking up at him. "Why'd you wake me up?"

"You were mumbling in your sleep."

"I was? I haven't done that before."

"You were saying something about 'Dead and gone' and 'fixing anything'. What's all that about?"

"I must've been dreaming about my dad, or something like that. He used to be able to fix anything."

"That explains a lot."

"Like what?"

"You were mumbling a lot of other stuff too, I couldn't catch all of it."

"Now can I go back to sleep?"

"Oh, sure."

"Thank you." Foxy laid back down, rolling over to face Thunder.

Lightning sank lower on his shocks, falling back asleep again also. He awoke a few hours later to find Foxy sleeping yet, Thunder laying at her feet, his head on his paws as he slept. Lightning grinned, then began driving out of the room. Thunder bolted awake, and Lightning chuckled. "Sorry buddy. You want to go down to the Butte for a quick race?" He was surprised at first when Thunder shook his head, then realized that he wouldn't leave Foxy behind, alone. "All right." Lightning gently petted Thunder, who yawned and stretched. He made his way back up towards Foxy's head, then laid down behind her again, pressing against her side. She rolled over in her sleep, laying an arm over him. Lightning smiled, then went over to Flo's, hoping that Foxy was starting to get better.

Foxy kicked a foot out from underneath the blankets in her sleep as she began dreaming. She kicked her foot out again, mumbling and moaning indiscernibly. She began flinching and cringing, both of her feet kicking and twitching. She began whimpering and moaning, twisting around, tangling herself in her blankets. Thunder woke up abruptly, then jumped down off the couch, not sure what to do. Foxy shot up into a sitting position, her eyes wide with fear as she uttered a hoarse, sharp shriek. She began shaking, and Thunder jumped back up, his ears back. He gently nuzzled her, whining softly. "I-I had a nightmare about how my father died." Foxy replied, her eyes filling up with tears.

Thunder slowly made his way towards her until they were nearly face to face, then she hugged him tightly, sobbing quietly into his fur. He gently set his muzzle on her shoulder, whining quietly. "I-It was awful!" Foxy sobbed, and Thunder licked her tears away, the tip of his tail wagging slowly. "I-I was watching from my grandmother's k-kitchen window when it happened." She told him, sniffling and wiping some of her tears away with the back of her hand. He whined softly, then set his muzzle on her shoulder again. She hugged him tightly, then seemed to be feeling a little better as she laid back down, petting his side as he laid down on her stomach carefully. He licked her face, and she giggled hoarsely. "Thunder, no." She sniffled, giggling even though she was still crying slightly as the memory of her nightmare lingered.

Thunder persisted, and soon she was giggling, her nightmare forgotten about. She took a hold of his front paws gently, then held them for a while, petting the fur on his large paws gently. He laid his muzzle down on her chest gently, and licked at her hands, making her laugh. Once he felt that she was feeling better, he gently laid back down at her side, his tail wagging. "Thanks, Thunder. I don't know what I'd have done if you weren't here. Probably just get a headache and pass out." She chuckled weakly, and he licked her again. She curled up at his side and continued petting him, smiling gently as his tail wagged. She fell asleep again a few minutes later, cuddled up to Thunder's side as she hugged him in her sleep.

The next morning, Foxy woke up feeling better then the day before, and stretched. Thunder woke up shortly after her, yawning and stretching. He wagged his tail when he spotted her sitting up already, and she grinned. "Morning, Thunder." She greeted him, and he wagged his tail, licking her face. She laughed, then tried to push him away. "Thunder, noo!" She laughed, and he barked.

Lightning rolled into the room, and blinked in surprise. "You look like you're feeling better."

Foxy grinned, and hobbled over to Lightning. "Thanks for everything, Lightning." "No problem." Foxy turned back to Thunder, who was still sitting on the couch, his head tilted slightly. "And thank you, Thunder."

Thunder bounded over to her, and jumped up, knocking her to the ground, licking her hands and her face. "Okay, okay, okay!" Foxy exclaimed, laughing.

"Thunder!" Lightning exclaimed in surprise, but couldn't hold back his laughter.

Thunder backed up, then sat down, his tongue flopping out one side of his mouth as he wagged his tail, looking pleased with himself. "You are such a screwball, Thunder." Foxy laughed as Lightning helped her up. "Thanks you guys." Foxy said with a laugh, shooting a glance Thunder's way to make sure he didn't pounce on her again. He remained where he was, and Foxy sighed. "All right, one more."

He leaped at Foxy, sending her to the ground and pinning her down with his front paws. She tried to pull her head back, laughing, but Thunder laid down on her stomach and continued licking her face. Lightning laughed as he watched the two, and finally, Foxy pushed Thunder off, then got up. "You goof." She told him.

"You feel up to going outside?"

"Sure!" The trio departed the cone, and Foxy was greeted by the others.

"There ya are! We were gettin' worried, Foxy." Strip called, and Foxy blushed.

"Thank you, Strip. It's nice seeing you again too."

"Hey, look what I caught for ya!" Fillmore triumphantly held out the bucket holding the frog, and Foxy looked inside curiously.

"A froggie!" She exclaimed, grinning. "He's really cute! I'm going to name him Mr. Frog-Hopper." Foxy gently grabbed the frog, and pulled him up out of the bucket for all to see. He was a fairly large frog, about four inches wide, and five inches long. Foxy had to hold him with both hands, and he uttered a low croak. "That's a big frog..." Foxy said, blinking in surprise. The others chuckled, and she held the frog up so she could look it in the eyes. "You're a really big frog. Do you know that?" She laughed, then placed the frog back into the bucket, covering it with the net.

"You like frogs?" Sally asked, slightly repulsed.

"I sure do! I like some snakes, getting dirty, frogs, toads, birds, worms..."

"Not to eat, I hope!" Sheriff exclaimed, and Foxy burst out laughing.

"No, of course not! Sheriff, I'm not a bird! I don't eat worms!"

Doc chuckled, and Foxy sat down next to Fillmore.

"I act more like a human guy then I do a human girl." She replied, and Fillmore smiled in her direction. "I'm serious! I like racing, digging in the dirt, frogs, snakes, and worms! I sound just like a regular human boy with all my favorite hobbies."

"Here's your coffee, honey." Flo told her, and she smiled.

"Thanks, Flo." Flo gave her a smile, then went to serve Lightning.

"Hey, ya want to go find more frogs?"

"Sure, Fillmore. That sounds like fun!" Foxy took her coffee with her as they began looking for frogs.

"I think we're gonna have to go up near the waterfall, man."

"Okay, it's a great day for a swim." Foxy replied with a smile. The two departed the town soon afterward, and made it to the water fall in about a half an hour. "I'll look down near the bottom, okay?" She told him, and he nodded. She dove down, looking for frogs that might have been hiding at the bottom of the waterfall's basin. Fillmore jumped into the basin, looking for frogs that might be setting out on a rock. He just spotted one, sitting facing away from him, and was about to capture it when Foxy bolted up out of the water, gagging and coughing and spluttering. "F-Fillmore!" She choked out before seemingly being dragged under the water again.

"Elizabeth?" Fillmore asked in horror. When she didn't resurface, he prepared to dive down after her. "I'm comin' for ya, man! Don't worry!" Fillmore sucked in a big breath, then dove under the choppy, uneven water. He swam down towards the bottom, looking around frantically for Foxy. He soon found her, lying limply on the ground. Fillmore looked her over, trying to figure out what was wrong, and discovered that a piece of seaweed had managed to wrap itself around her collar. He yanked her free, then swam back up, adjusting his position underneath Foxy so she would pop out of the water on his roof. He drove out of the water as fast as he could, then tilted his roof slightly forwards, so Foxy would slide down and land in front of him. He felt her sliding, and caught her in his tires. She flopped limply, like a life-sized rag doll. He laid her down on the ground, and nudged her gently. "C'mon, man." When he got no response, he nudged her more firmly. "C'mon, Elizabeth. Wake up." He nudged her once more, and was relieved to see her open her eyes, blinking in the bright sunlight.

She coughed up some water, then looked around.

"Wh-What happened? The last thing I remember was something choking me, then I screamed for you, then I was pulled under, then there was blackness."

"Your collar got tangled up in some seaweed, man."

Foxy looked down at her collar, and saw a knot of brown seaweed dangling from it. "Thanks, Fillmore. You saved my life."

"It was nothin'." Fillmore replied, scuffing a front tire in the dirt.

"No, it wasn't 'Nothing'. I could've died."

Fillmore winced at that word, and Foxy gently set a hand on his front gently.

"I didn't mean for it to sound so blunt, I-I was just trying to make an example."

Fillmore nodded, and nudged her gently. "You okay, man?"

"I should be now. Let's look for frogs, okay? But this time, we'll stay on the surface of the water."

Fillmore nodded, and Foxy began looking for more frogs again, her eyes scanning the waterline. She spotted one on a rock, and took off towards it, not making a sound as she doggy-paddled through the water. She was able to creep right up to the frog, and grabbed it firmly, holding it securely in her hands.

"Fillmore! I got one!"

"Right on! Bring it back, man!" Foxy laid on her back and kicked her way back to shore. When she got there, she held out the frog above her head.

"Here he is. Bring the bucket over here, Fillmore." She looked up and saw Fillmore, parked over her. She let the frog fall into what she thought was the bucket, then sat up, turning around.

"He's makin' a run for it, man!" Fillmore exclaimed, hopping after the frog.

Foxy was doubled up with laughter, seeing the seafoam-green van hop after the frog. She got up, then darted towards the frog from the side. "Fillmore, stay there, I've got him!" She went into a slide on her stomach, sending up a large cloud of dirt and sand. She outstretched her hands for the frog, and felt them close around him. She rolled over onto her back, and held the frog up. "Success." She wheezed, slightly out of breath from the slide.

"Great slide, man!" Fillmore replied from about ten feet away.

She got up, making sure that the frog wasn't harmed. It let out a loud croak, then struggled, trying to get free. "Oh, no you don't!" Foxy said firmly, then walked over to Fillmore and dropped the frog into the bucket, placing the net over it quickly.

"That was a great catch, man."

"Thanks, Fillmore." Foxy panted, covered from head to foot in orange-red dirt.

"Just wait 'till the others see ya." Fillmore smiled, and she looked down at her jeans.

"Aww, man. These were my favorites." She moaned, but sighed anyways. "Oh well. Not like I've got other clothes here." She laughed. Fillmore nudged her gently, then she spotted another one. "Look at how big he is, Fillmore!" She whispered excitedly.

"I don't think that's a frog, man." Fillmore replied hesitantly, looking closely at the creature.

"Sure it is. Why else would it be on the rock?" Fillmore shrugged, and Foxy went after it. It was facing away from her, and as she drew closer, she saw that it didn't look like a frog at all. It began turning around to face her, and she gasped. It was a medium-sized snapping turtle, and it looked mad. "Fill-Fillmore!" She shrieked as the turtle slipped back into the water. She swam as fast as she could back towards the shore, and was sure that the turtle was following her. "Out of the way! It's a snapping turtle!" She shrieked at him.

He nearly jumped aside as she ran onto shore. She stopped a few feet from the water's edge, gasping and panting for breath.

"I don't think ya have ever swam that fast, man. At least not while I was with ya."

Foxy shook her head, still panting. She jumped backwards as the turtle poked its head out of the water near her. "I think we should get out of here, Fillmore." She panted, and he nodded. The two went towards the town at a relatively fast pace.

"Are you all right?" Sally asked, seeing Foxy still panting slightly.

"There was a- giant snapping turtle-back there."

"You didn't get bitten by it, did you?" Doc asked worriedly, and Foxy shook her head.

"We didn't, but we did catch a frog."

"Another one?"

"Yeah, he's giant!" Foxy smiled as she reached into the bucket to grab the frog. She pulled him out, and held him out. He slipped from her hands, and hopped down the road. "I got him!" She exclaimed, then took off after the frog. He hopped back the way they had come, and Foxy chased after him. He hopped into the dirt, and Foxy went down into another slide, almost coming face to fencepost with Sarge's fence.

"You didn't hit the fence, right?" Sheriff called her way.

She popped up, holding the frog tightly and grinning. "Nope!" She made her way back over to Flo's and sat down at Fillmore's side.

"You're covered in dirt, Foxy." Doc laughed, and she looked down, then grinned.

"I sure am!"

Doc and the others chuckled, and Foxy held up the frog. "There he is."

"Quite an impressive size, Foxy." Chick replied, coming up the street.

"Hi, Chick." She greeted him, and he nuzzled her gently with his fender, his engine purring slightly.

"Do you know that you're covered in dirt?"

"Yep!" She gave him a grin, and he grinned back.

"All right then. Morning, Weathers."

Strip nodded his hood once, then continued drinking his coffee that Flo had served. He had seen that Chick wasn't a threat to him anymore, and Chick had apologized. Thunder came over to her and began sniffing at the frog curiously, then leapt back when it croaked loudly. The others laughed, and Thunder growled at the frog before going back over to Lightning's side and laying down. Foxy placed the frog back in the bucket, covering it with the net.

"That was fun. We should do that more often, Fillmore." She spotted Lightning whispering to Red, but didn't think much of it until Lightning pointed her way with a tire. She looked at him curiously, and he grinned. She rolled her eyes upwards, and figured that he was going to pull a prank on her. Suddenly, she got an idea, and got up, limping over to Thunder and Lightning. She sat down and began petting Thunder, who wagged his tail.

"Hi Foxy."

Foxy laughed. "Hi, Lightning."

"Why'd you come over here to pet him? You didn't have to get up."

"Just felt like stretching." She replied, still petting Thunder.

"Oh, okay." Lightning smiled, then looked over to Red, who nodded silently. "You're really covered in dirt." Lightning commented, seeing how dirty she was.

Foxy nodded absentmindedly, petting Thunder. Without alerting Foxy, Red had managed to drive around behind her and now parked there, his hose raised as he waited for Lightning to signal him.

"Are you cold?" Lightning asked suddenly, and the others abruptly knew what he had in mind.

"No, why?"

That was Red's cue, and he turned on his hose, dousing Foxy in freezing cold water, and also Thunder, who uttered a loud shriek of surprise and leapt up from the ground, shaking. Foxy copied him, and whirled around, her hair flying behind her. She spotted Red parked there, a fearful and guilty look on his face, and Foxy's expression became sorrowful.

"Who did it, Red?"

Red pointed at Lightning with a tire, and Foxy nodded.

"I thought so. You can fire when ready, Red." She grinned, and Red laughed silently, then took aim, firing off a blast of cold water at Lightning's tailfin.

"HEY! That's COLD!" He exclaimed, jumping about three feet into the air.

"That's what you get for trying to prank me!" She laughed, high-fiving Red when he held up a front tire.

"That was different! I was trying to get the dirt off you!"

"Yeah right. I saw you whispering to Red and figured you were up to something." She replied, swatting Lightning on the hood playfully. It didn't hurt, but he moaned and complained as though she'd struck him with a train. Finally Doc cut in, telling Lightning to stop whining and take it like a race car. Lightning pouted as Foxy laughed triumphantly, sitting on his hood. "Ohh, come on. You deserved it." She told him, and he tried not to laugh, then pouted again.

"So did you."

"What are you talking about?"

"This! Red, now!"

Red sprayed both of them by mistake as he tried to get Foxy, making the others laugh.

"Hey!" The two chorused. Foxy shook herself off like a dog, getting Lightning even more wet.

"Hey, watch it!" He chuckled as she shook her hair out.

"That's what you get for messing with me." She teased, and he jerked his hood up abruptly, making her yelp, jolt into the air, then slide backwards.

"And that's what you get for getting me wet."

"Come on you two. Don't make me arrest you." Sheriff declared, and the others laughed.

"Oh, Sheriff, you wouldn't possibly arrest someone who has no idea how she got here, would you? After all, I truly don't know what happened that night." She replied sweetly, giving him her most innocent and helpless expression, and he sighed, mumbling in low tones to his coffee about 'Puppy-dog eyes' and 'Not going to work'. The others laughed, and Foxy got down off Lightning's hood, returning to Fillmore's side.

Lightning shook his hood, still chuckling, then called a truce her way.

"What, for the pranks? No way, buddy. You wanted a challenge, now you're getting it." She grinned his way, and he grinned back.

"So that's how you want it." Lightning gave her a smirk, and she felt a cold gust of wind pass by her, making her shudder slightly, her eyes never leaving Lightning's.

**I've been known to fish frogs out of our pool and keep them for a while. One time, we found a worm that was roughly a foot long. XD I dunno why, but Frogs are just adorable! I always name them, then let them go at our neighbor's (He has a pond, and usually comes to us for frogs.)~Liz**


	27. Cloud-Watching and Confessions

"Getting scared already, are you?" He teased, and she leapt to her feet indignantly.

"No! I'm just cold since you got Red to drench me." Lightning laughed, and Foxy sat down at Fillmore's side, snuggling against his side, shaking slightly from her now soaked and freezing-cold clothes. Fillmore leaned against her side more, trying to warm her up. She pressed against his side, grateful that the day was already warm. She dried off in about an hour, thinking about how she could get Lightning back. Suddenly, she had an idea, and nudged Fillmore in the side. "Hey, Fillmore?" She whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Has anyone ever caught that snapping turtle?"

"I doubt it, man."

"That might be a slight problem."

"Ya weren't thinkin' of going after it again, were ya?" Foxy looked over Lightning's way, then grinned.

"Precisely."

"And ya want me to help?"

"Only if you want to."

"Sounds a bit dangerous." Fillmore replied doubtfully, and Foxy's grin slid off her face, turning instead into a saddened expression.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It doesn't mean that we can't try, right?"

"It sure don't, man." Fillmore replied, and Foxy's grin returned.

"Great, thanks! I'll see if I can get Mater to help too. We'll need a way into Lightning's cone."

"Why's that, man?"

"Because, I'll show him how to do a REAL prank."

"Far out."

Foxy nodded, then replied, "Not a word about this to Lightning, Doc, or Sheriff, please?"

"Wouldn't think of it."

"Thanks, Fillmore. I may have been able to worm my way out of being arrested once, but I doubt that I'd get lucky a second time."

Fillmore nodded, and Foxy hugged his side.

"Thanks, Fillmore."

He glanced her way with a smile, and she purred slightly. She was able to get Mater to help, and the trio went back out to the waterfall. They looked around for the snapping turtle, and saw it on a rock beside the waterfall. "We're going to need a bucket." Mater sped off towards town, making Foxy laugh. He returned a short while later, carrying the handle of a metal bucket on his tow hook, strutting as though he had just captured a wanted criminal. He set the bucket down at her feet, then sat, grinning. "Thanks, Mater." Foxy smiled before placing the bucket on her head. "I'm going in." She said with a grin, looking so ridiculous that Fillmore chuckled.

She began giggling also, and the movement caused the bucket to fall down over her face. Her laughter rang out from underneath the bucket rim, loud and slightly gonglike. Fillmore rolled over to her and gently lifted the bucket up until he could see her. She tried her hardest not to laugh as she looked up at Fillmore, but began giggling anyways. She sat down, laughing too hard to stand properly. Thunder, who had come along with Mater, trotted over and stuck his muzzle up underneath the bucket rim and began licking her face, making her laugh even louder, her feet kicking erratically as she hugged him around the neck and shoulders, trying to get him to stop. Fillmore laughed, seeing her predicament. Eventually, Thunder pulled his muzzle out of the bucket, and Foxy pushed the bucket back up on her head so she could see. "Wish me luck." She teased gently, then walked into the water, swimming towards the turtle quietly.

Once she was within two feet of the snapping turtle, she took the bucket off her head slowly, trying not to alert the turtle to her presence. In one swift movement, she scooped up the turtle into the bucket before it realized what had happened. "I got it!" She exclaimed triumphantly. She swam back to shore, then staggered out, holding the bucket at an arm's length. "He's feisty." Thunder trotted over to the bucket, and started to stick his nose into the bucket. "No, Thunder!" She exclaimed, and he backed off quickly, his tail and ears drooping. "I'm not mad, I don't want you getting your nose bitten off." She told him, and he perked up a little.

"So what's your plan for this turtle, man?"

"I was thinking that we sneak into Lightning's cone and set it on his hood in his sleep, then wake him up. It'll freak him out."

Mater snickered and replied, "Dad-gum! That there's a mighty good prank, Foxy! I sure wish I woulda thought of that...", making Foxy laugh.

"All right, then it's a plan!" They went back to town, and Foxy put the bucket with the frogs' bucket in Fillmore's dome, placing a net over the bucket so the turtle couldn't get out. She went back over to Flo's, sitting down beside Fillmore. She tried not to grin as Lightning looked her way, but she must have anyways, because he laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"You."

"Me? What did I do?"

"You're grinning like you've got a secret." He replied suspiciously.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't." She replied, and Lightning sighed.

"Fine, you win."

Now it was Foxy's turn to be confused. "What did I win?"

"Never mind."

Foxy sighed, then leaned her back against Fillmore's side, looking up at the clouds as they rolled by. "There's a bunny." She said abruptly, pointing into the sky at a cloud shaped like a rabbit.

"You're right. It does look like a rabbit." Strip replied, looking at the cloud also.

"All I see are clouds." Chick replied, looking into the sky with a determined expression, trying to see the rabbit.

"You've got to use your imagination, Chick." Mariana replied, driving over to lay down at Foxy's side. "I see the bunny too. And he's riding on a butterfly."

"Hey, yeah!" Foxy replied, looking at the cloud below the bunny.

"Imagination? I don't have one of those." Foxy and Mariana giggled quietly, then Foxy limped over to Chick's side. She pointed out the shape of the rabbit.

"There, see his one ear is pointed back, while the other one is up in the air? And the butterfly-it's a little stretched out now, but it's right underneath him. See the wings?" She traced the outline of the elongated wings with her finger, and Chick began to see the shapes.

"Kinda."

Foxy sighed, then looked around in the sky. "Over there's a book." She pointed out the slightly square-shaped cloud, and Chick nodded his hood.

"Is that all you do? Look for a cloud that looks like something else?"

Foxy smiled. "That's all there is to it."

"Hmm... Then there's a set of tire tracks?" He pointed out a set of jet contrails which were in the form of tire tracks. He looked in Foxy's direction and shrugged. "I'm just not good at this stuff." To his surprise, she brought her hand down in his hood lightly, but hard enough to make him flinch.

"Nobody's ever 'not good' at anything, Chick." She told him, and he sighed. He looked up into the sky again, and this time, didn't say anything for a long time. Finally, he spoke up, and it was oddly flat.

"I see a V."

Foxy looked into the sky, and sure enough, there was a sideways V made out of the wispy clouds higher up in the sky. "Now you're getting it." Foxy said approvingly, then Sheriff pointed out the rough shape of a tire. "Or it could be a doughnut." Foxy replied, and Sheriff nodded in agreement.

"I see a pile of fluff." Lightning grinned, pointing up at a large clump of cloud.

"Lightning." Foxy sighed, shaking her head.

"What about that, man?" Fillmore asked, pointing up at an object in the sky.

"It looks like a sheep." She told him, and he looked confused. "It's almost like a tractor, except it's not exactly- it's kind of like Thunder, only like a giant fuzzball, it's hard to describe." She sighed, shrugging. She could tell that she hadn't done a very good job of explaining, given the confused looks of the others. "Thunder, come here, please." Thunder arose from his spot at Lightning's side, then padded over to Foxy. "Okay, stay." She told him. "A sheep is a kind of farm animal, like a tractor. It's about as tall as Thunder, maybe a little bit bigger." She held her hand about five inches above Thunder's back.

The others nodded slightly in understanding, and Foxy continued. "It's covered in big clumps of fur, called wool, and this wool looks like a cloud, and it makes the sheep look like a ball of fuzz, or like a cloud, like one of those." She pointed above her head to a giant clump of white clouds.

"And this is an animal?" Lightning asked.

Foxy nodded. "They're really skittish though, so you've got to be careful if you ever see one. Otherwise, if you want to capture it, you won't see it around for a few days after that. In my world, people keep them in big flocks, almost like the tractors. They let their wool grow really poofy and clumpy, then they take them inside a barn and cut all their wool off in the spring."

"Why would they do that?"

"It makes clothes, string, yarn, and lots of other stuff."

"Doesn't it hurt them?"

"Nope. It's just like if you decided to cut all my hair off. It would look horrible for a few weeks, but then it would grow back. Or Thunder's fur for that matter."

Thunder began inching away from her, and she laughed. "It's only an example, Thunder."

Fillmore told her that he knew where they could look up at the whole sky.

"Where is it?" She asked.

He replied, "It's up the road past Wheel Well, man."

"Could we go now?" She asked eagerly, and he nodded.

"Sure."

"All right! Let's go!" She stood up eagerly, and the two departed the town. They reached the spot shortly after three o'clock, and Foxy looked around eagerly. There was a small area of grass on the secluded ledge, just big enough for a human and Fillmore to lay down. Foxy laid down on her stomach, kicking her feet up into the air and crossing them at her ankles.

Fillmore laid at her side, and the two began 'cloud-watching' as they soon called it. They spotted all sorts of shapes, and made up their own occasionally. They noticed that the clouds were slowly getting darker, but still didn't leave. The clouds grew even darker and fuller as the hours rolled by, and still the two didn't leave. "It'll just rain." They agreed, and stopped watching clouds, since they all looked the same.

They began talking again, and Foxy confessed that she didn't know if she'd ever be able to get home. Fillmore nudged her in sympathy, then replied quietly that he wanted her to stay.

"You do?" She asked.

"Sure do, man. I'd miss ya too much if ya left."

"I'd miss you too, Fillmore." She smiled gently, moving until she was snuggled against his side, still lying on her stomach.

Fillmore smiled faintly, looking up at the darkening sky but not really seeing it. "Ya remember that night I brought ya up to Wheel Well?"

"The night you got me drunk? I sure do." There was a grin in her voice, and a smile on her face, but Fillmore couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

"That night, ya said some things that I wasn't sure if it was because ya were drunk."

"I think I faintly remember that I was nuts."

"Ya thought there was two of me, an' that the other one was my twin."

Foxy laughed, dropping her head to the grass. She looked back up at him and noticed him smiling. "I really was drunk, if I was seeing two of you."

"There was somethin' else ya said, too."

"What was it?"

"Ya said that ya liked my 'twin'."

"Your twi- Oh."

There was a slightly awkward silence for a few moments, then Fillmore asked quietly, "Is it true?"

Foxy looked down at the ground. '_This is it. He's going to say no, he's going to say no, he's going to say no, he's going to say no._' "Yes."

Fillmore was surprised, but happy at the same time. He was glad that she felt the same way he did. Foxy looked back up at him, afraid that he wouldn't feel the same way at all. Therefore, she was surprised to see him smiling. He nudged her in the side gently with a tire, looking up at the clouds. "We'd better get goin', man." They got up from the grass, and as Foxy started off the ledge, Fillmore pulled around in front of her, blocking her path. She smiled up at him, and he ruffled her hair gently with a tire. "I think you're pretty groovy too."

Foxy felt her heart jump into her throat when she heard that. '_He didn't say no._' She thought giddily, then gave him what she hoped was a grin. He chuckled, and just as they were about to leave the ledge, a crack of lightning shot across the sky. Foxy yelped in fear and pressed herself against Fillmore's side firmly, shaking.

"It's all right, man. All we gotta do is get outta here, then we'll be all right."

Foxy nodded silently, then the two made their way off the ledge. Abruptly, there was a loud crack, a flash, then a low rumbling sound that steadily grew louder. They turned as one to look towards the sound. There were boulders and rocks of various sizes tumbling down the cliffs towards them at a frightening speed.

"Fillmore, we've got t-"

"Get outta here, man." He told her in a low voice, and she hesitated. "Get outta here. I'll be right behind ya."

She took off, Fillmore following. She heard an abrupt THUD, and gasped. It sounded like something hitting metal.

"Keep goin', man!"

She bit her lip, then continued forwards. She could still hear Fillmore behind her, and that was slightly comforting.

There were more THUDS, each one echoing. She heard glass tinkling, and her heart stopped, along with her feet. She whirled around, her eyes widening in horror as her hands flew up to her mouth to suppress a shriek. Fillmore's roof and side were filled with dents, some deep while others were more shallow. What had horrified her the most, however, was the large crack in Fillmore's right eye.

He cringed in slight pain, but he nudged her firmly, ushering her forwards. "Keep goin', man. These rocks might crush ya."

"But Fillmore, you're hurt!"

He nudged her more firmly. "You've gotta get outta here. I'll be all right, man."

More rocks tumbled down from the cliff, hitting him in the roof heavily. He cringed away from them, and Foxy set her expression. Fillmore had seen her use it only one other time. She frowned, her eyebrows covering her eyes partially as she gave him a flat glare.

"Fillmore, you're hurt. We won't be able to go on much longer."

"We've gotta keep tryin', man."

"I'll run up ahead to see if there's any caves, all right?"

Fillmore nodded, and Foxy noted that it was with a stiffness that hadn't been there before. She took off, hobbling as fast as she could.

**Hi, everyone! Guess who's back, back, back? Back again, gain, gain? XD How is everyone? And EmilyTheBrave, that new story's taking longer then I thought, so if it seems like it's taking forever for you to see the new chapter, that's why. It takes a lot of thought to come up with the stories that find their way on here. *sheepish grin* Anyways, how'd you like the cloud-watching bit? Was it full of fluff (and I don't mean the clouds. ;])? I tried to describe the sheep as though someone had never heard of one before, or even seen one, so if it seems weird, that's why. And Foxy finally spilled her thoughts without the use of Beer! YAY FOXY! XD Look for FORD next! ~Liz (P.S. it's June where I live, and I'm listening to Christmas music... :D)**


	28. Fillmore's Story

She found a suitable cave for them, then hobbled back towards Fillmore. When she got back to him, she couldn't suppress her shriek of horror this time as she looked down at him with nightmarish horror in her face, which turned very white in a matter of seconds. "F-Fillmore!" She gasped, sinking down to her knees so she could be face to front end with him. "Wh-What happened?"

"There was a lot of rocks that came down after ya left, man." He whispered softly, his eyes shut tightly, not able to bear looking down at her horrified face.

"There's a cave back that way. D-Do you think you can get back up?" She asked him worriedly.

For an answer, he rose to his wheels shakily. She arose from the ground just as shakily, and together, the two made their way back to the cave. Fillmore laid down at the back, then looked up at Foxy, who was looking him over in horror. "

It's pretty bad, right man?" He asked, and for an answer, she sank to her knees again, placing a hand gently on his front end. She looked up at him, and he could see her eyes were filling up with tears. He gently nudged her, cringing slightly.

"Come on, man. It'll be all right. Don't cry." She whimpered for an answer, then curled up against his front gently, pressing her side against him. He could hear her sobbing quietly, and it made him feel even worse then the crack in his eye and the various dents.

"Hey, Elizabeth." The sound of her real name shocked her out of her sobs, and she looked up at him, tears running down her cheeks. "I'm gonna be fine. I've been through much worse."

"Bu-bu-bu-but-" She whimpered, placing her hand on his VW symbol gently. The touch of her hand made him feel a thousand times better, but he had gotten her attention. That was what mattered.

"I've been through much worse in runnin' from them soldiers, man."

"Wh-What are you talking about, Fillmore?" Her eyes grew even more worried then they already were, and she didn't realize that she had begun gently running her fingers over his VW symbol, tracing it lightly.

"They wanted me to go into that war, man. I refused to do it."

"Bu-But why didn't you want to?"

"I didn't want to be a dog to the MAN, and I didn't wanna be shootin' other cars for no reason at all. It just isn't right."

Foxy gently rested her head against Fillmore's front.

He looked down at her worriedly, and asked if she was all right.

"I'm all right, Fillmore." She replied, but there was a hint of worry in her eyes. "What did the soldiers do when you said you wouldn't do it?"

"I heard the MAN say over their radios to shoot at me, and to try and convince me into joining the military."

Foxy's bottom jaw dropped nearly to her chest. "That's horrid!" She replied, and Fillmore nodded slightly. "They didn't hurt you too badly, did they?"

"Nearly shot my engine out when I turned tail, man."

Foxy gently set her head against his front again, never taking her hand from his VW symbol. "Why would he order them to do such a horrid and barbaric thing?" She asked.

"That's what things were like then. If ya didn't wanna join up, they'd MAKE ya join. Of course, there were ways around it."

"Like what?"

"If ya couldn't see, ya were missin' a tire or somethin'."

"Why didn't you just say that you had something like that?"

"I'm not a liar, man."

"I'm not much of one either." She agreed. "How'd you get away?"

"Sarge."

"Sarge?"

"He tried convincin' them that I wasn't worth it. I don't think it worked, but it got me enough time to get away."

"Where'd you go?"

"I went back to my dome, got some of my stuff, then came out here."

"And Sarge followed you?"

"No, he came out here later, man. After that war was over."

Foxy nodded in understanding, her fingers tracing his VW symbol absentmindedly.

"Said that I owed him for that day."

"What did you owe him?"

"I never found out, man. Right after he said that, he started goin' all nuts, shoutin' stuff out, pacin' back and forth."

"What was he shouting?" Foxy asked.

"It mighta been commands to someone or somethin', because he seemed like he was really worked up about somethin'."

"PTSD." Foxy muttered to herself, and Fillmore looked down at her in confusion.

"What's that mean, man?"

"It's when soldiers come back from a war, and if they hear a loud noise, like a helicopter, a tree breaking, or really loud thunder they'll freak out, like Sarge did that day. It doesn't even have to be something they heard. If they see anything that reminds them of the war, if it's bad enough, they'll act like Sarge also."

"What do ya think made him go all weird that day?"

"I wasn't there, so I wouldn't be able to tell. Were there any helicopters flying around?"

"Not that I know of."

"What about a gunshot?"

"I think someone was shootin' somethin', maybe a rabbit or somethin'."

"That's what it was." She whispered.

"What's wrong, man?"

"That's what makes him freak out. The sound of a gun."

"That'd freak me out too, man. 'Specially if it was a really big gun."

"No, this goes beyond normal fear and freak outs. Sarge must've killed at least a few cars in the war."

"Sarge? Killin' someone? Ya sure that ya don't have that thing?"

"No, I'm being serious, Fillmore. If Sarge killed more then a few cars, then he'd become familiar with it. And if he ended up being covered in all that... oil, that would've been like teaching a puppy that you'll smack him if he doesn't do something you want."

"So what you're sayin' is that if Sarge killed cars durin' that war, that he'd learn to be scared of that gun, an' go into a panic attack every time he hears one?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Fillmore."

"But then why don't he try killin' you?"

"I'm not sure... has he tried that?"

"Whenever he hears one, I guess."

"On who?"

"Who else, man?"

"That's awful, Fillmore." Her eyes became worried again, and she set her head against his front gently, her hand resting on his VW symbol.

"Looks like the storm stopped, man."

Foxy didn't reply, and Fillmore assumed that she was asleep. He leaned against her gently, trying to fall asleep. He looked down at her hair, seeing that it was still slightly wet from the storm. He shakily put a wheel around her and pulled her closer.

Drawing comfort from hugging her, he soon fell asleep also, lying on the sandy ground. He woke up the next morning to something at his injured side. He leaned away from whatever it was, wincing.

"Sorry, Fillmore."

"It's only you, Elizabeth." He seemed to relax once more, and Foxy sighed.

She was almost done pulling the dents out of Fillmore's side and roof. All she needed to finish up were the deeper ones in his side. "This might hurt, Fillmore."

"What're ya doin', anyways?" He asked, and Foxy grunted, pulling the biggest dent out. Fillmore yelped as it popped back into place with a CLANG.

"Sorry!" Foxy replied worriedly. "And to respond to your question, I'm pulling the dents out."

"How do ya do that?"

"It's quite simple really. All I needed was a suction cup of reasonable size, and-this-dent-is-really-tough!" She exclaimed through tightly gritted teeth as she pulled as hard as she could. She let go finally, panting slightly.

"It's all right, man. Ya don't have to get them all."

Foxy didn't answer right away, instead she dug in the heels of her shoes and pulled with all her might. She grunted, and the sudden CLANG from the dent popping out of the metal, along with the release of the suction cup sent her flying backwards onto the ground.

"Oof!" She exclaimed as she landed on her posterior.

"Ya all right, man?" Fillmore replied, turning to look at her in confusion. "You're sitting in the dirt, do ya know that?"

"Doesn't surprise me." Foxy replied, and smiled. "At least they're all out. I don't have any replacement windshield glass in my back pocket, so we're going to have to get back to the town and see if Doc has any."

Fillmore nodded, then nudged Foxy up.

"Do you feel up to it?" She asked him, gently setting her hand on his VW symbol.

He ignored the sudden warmth that he felt when she set her hand on the VW emblem gently, and rose from the sandy soil, stretching out like a cat.

They departed the cave cautiously, looking around for any other rocks that might come tumbling down. When they cleared the area, they set off quickly, or at least as fast as Fillmore could go with one eye virtually useless. They arrived back in town about two hours later, and everyone had apparently noticed their absence.

"There you guys are!" Lightning pulled up beside her, and whispered something to her that made her jump about a foot into the air, then smack him on the hood.

"No, we weren't! If you need to know so bad, we got caught in a cave during a rockslide."

"You didn't get hurt, did you?"

Foxy shook her head sadly. "I didn't, but Fillmore did. I pulled all the dents out the best I could." She replied, and Lightning looked at her curiously.

"What dents?"

"From the rocks."

"I get that, but I don't see any." Lightning replied in a low voice as Fillmore drove over to Doc's.

"That's because I pulled them out."

"With your hands?"

"No, with a suction cup. It's really simple. My 'boss' at the mechanic shop I 'worked' at showed me how."

"What's with all those air quotes?"

"First of all, he wasn't really my boss because I didn't get paid, but he wasn't a teacher either. Secondly, it was more of like a mechanic shop in a school where kids and their 'bosses' could bring their cars."

"You could've just said that someone showed you how to do it." Lightning teased, and Foxy sighed, laying down on his hood.

Lightning's expression softened, growing more worried. "You all right?"

"Just tired. I was up most of the night pulling out the dents."

"Go over and get some sleep, if you want to. Thunder's still over there yet."

"Thanks, Lightning." She offered him a smile, then yawned. "Sorry." She giggled quietly, then Lightning nudged her in the direction of his cone.

"Go on."

"All right, all right, Mr. Bossy." She replied, then yawned again. She opened the garage door, then limped inside and shut it. She heard a padding sound coming down the hallway, and was instantly attacked with a slobbery bath, courtesy of Thunder. She yawned, and Thunder tugged her in the direction of his bedroom. She followed, too tired to think of anything except Fillmore and sleep. Once she saw his bed, she sank down into it, curling up underneath the covers.

Thunder laid down beside her, placing his paw over her side as he laid his muzzle on her side also. Foxy was asleep in minutes, and didn't wake up until noon, nearly four hours later. She yawned, sitting up and stretching. Thunder licked her once, then nudged her.

"Okay, okay, I'm up." She yawned again. Thunder wagged his tail, then licked her nose.

"Bleg-Thunder!" She laughed, taken by surprise. He licked her again, then sat down as she stood up.

"Let's go see Fillmore, okay?" She asked, and he barked. They left the cone, and she was instantly swamped by the triplets, Jack, and Mariana.

"You're okay!"

"You're back!"

"We thought you guys died!"

She collapsed on the ground, giggling as they formed a circle around her, nudging her with their front ends happily. "Okay, come on, let me up. It's good to see you guys too." She laughed. One by one, they backed off until Thunder nudged her back up. The group went over to Flo's, and she sat down next to Fillmore, who had gotten his windshield repaired by Doc easily.

Fillmore ruffled her hair playfully as she yawned, making her giggle.

"Fillmore!" Fillmore chuckled, but didn't take his tire off her head.

**Here's the next chapter! I know it isn't Saturday, but I'm leaving for vacation in a few hours, and didn't want to leave you guys high and dry with nothing new to read, so here it is! :) See ya soon, Liz**


	29. Chick Gets Greedy

**Warning: Adult suggestions in this chapter. I'm not responsible for any young'un's actions. :)**

She let her eyelids slide shut and she began purring happily. Absentmindedly, Fillmore began petting her hair again as she purred. She heard snickering, and reluctantly opened an eye to see Lightning watching her and snickering. "What's so funny, Lightning?"

He didn't respond, just gave her a smirk that was almost a sly grin.

"Lay off." She replied, trying not to laugh.

Lightning laughed, but still didn't reply.

"Great comeback." Chick snorted, and Foxy frowned over his way.

"Yours was even better." She replied, laughing.

Chick looked over her way with a grin, then replied, "Thanks, I try."

Foxy sighed, then leaned against Fillmore's side. He leaned back for minute, then straightened. Foxy smiled, and Chick noticed her expression. He cast a sly, knowing grin her way, and she looked at him in what she hoped was innocence.

When the others departed to get to their shops, Chick followed after Foxy, who was heading down to Willy's Butte. "Hey, Foxy!"

She turned around and saw Chick. "What's up?" She greeted him, and he nudged her gently.

"Just wanted to talk."

"All right. What did you want to talk about?"

"You and that bus."

"Fillmore."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Are you and him, you know?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure yet."

"You two are already really close, I don't know why you don't just go somewhere and-" He froze, and gave her a sly grin.

"What?" She asked worriedly.

"You two were gone for a while." He replied, still wearing the same grin.

"Yeah, because of the storm."

"I'm talking about before the storm."

She froze also, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly. "We were watching the clouds." She told him finally, and to her shock, he laughed.

"Is that what they call it?"

"You think me and Fillmore- You perv!"

"I never said I was anything else."

"We didn't do THAT. We were talking."

"'Bout what?" He asked casually, driving towards the Butte again.

"Stuff." Foxy replied, a bit of an edge creeping into her voice.

"If you don't want to admit it, then you don't want to admit it. Fine with me."

Foxy was beginning to grow irritated with him, and replied through gritted teeth, "We didn't do THAT, I said. We were talking about me going home."

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Chick purred as he drove along at her side.

She ignored him.

"Oh, come on. Don't be like that. It was just a question. Besides, I was only curious."

'_Yeah, you were about as curious as a killer creeping up behind their victim._' Foxy thought with venom.

"So, where were you heading?"

"Down to the Butte. Care to give me twenty questions on that, too?"

"Hey, cool it. I was only wondering about you and the bus because you two have been snuggly ever since I got here." He replied in annoyance, then his voice changed to a purr. "Although it's been you I've had my eye on for a while. What do you say? I'll really make you purr, babe."

Foxy stopped in shock and horror. "WHAT?" She asked, looking at him in disbelief and rising anger.

"You heard me. I've been lookin' for some new mares for my harem, and you'd be perfect." He looked her over, and she backed up, a disgusted look on her face.

"Hicks, you sure do have a strange taste in Chicks." She replied finally, and Chick snorted in annoyance.

"Cute. Did your Filly Friend teach you that one?"

"Nope. It's one of my own. And his name's Fillmore."

"Come on, he won't know. Just one little runaround." He purred huskily, and Foxy backed up, her eyes wide.

"No. I'm not into vehicality."

"I could change that, babe." Chick replied in a low voice, and moved closer to Foxy, his eyes glinting in the sunlight. Foxy looked around for someone to help, but there was nobody out at the Butte except for her and Chick.

"Don't call me 'babe'." Foxy told him firmly, although in her mind was chaos.

'_He's going to rape me, he's going to rape me, he's going to rape me._'

Chick chuckled, then replied, "Whatever you say, babe."

Suddenly, she had an idea. "If you want to have me, you've got to take me back to your trailer first, Chicky."

"Why would I do that, babe?"

"We're out here in the open, and anyone could come along and see us."

"I like the way you think, babe." Chick replied in a thick purr, and his engine revved once or twice.

"Mind if I sit on your hood? It's such a long way back, Chicky." She purred softly, and he smiled.

"Not at all."

She smiled back, then sat down on his hood gently. "Could we go slow? I'm afraid that if we go too fast I'm going to fall off." She replied in a light, soft voice, and Chick nodded.

"Sure thing. It's nice to take things slow sometimes." He raised his eyelids repeatedly, flirting with her.

She smiled, lowering her eyelids, attempting to give him her best 'bedroom eyes'.

'_He's so going to be mad at me._' She thought, her plan almost complete. All she needed to do was slip off his hood and limp back over to Fillmore's side. Thankfully, her ankle was almost fully healed, and she could limp along at a quick pace, or even tiptoe fast if she had to. They arrived back in town shortly, and Foxy slipped down from his hood quickly.

"What's the matter, babe?" He asked, and she turned and patted his hood, letting her fingertips linger. She could see him shudder with pleasure, and laughter exploded inside of her mind.

"I was going to get some oil for you, Chicky. I'll be over at your trailer shortly."

She gave him a falsely seductive look, and a dopey grin formed on his bumper.

"Great idea, babe. I'll be in my trailer."

"All right then. See you soon." She replied, bending to gently brush her lips against his hood. He shuddered again, then drove over to his trailer, shutting the door. Once she was sure that he wasn't coming out anytime soon, she made for Flo's as fast as she could. As she was limping over, the past half an hour came crashing down on her mind, and she began shaking with fear. By the time she reached Flo's, she was shaking so badly, she appeared to be vibrating.

"What's wrong? Ya look like ya just saw a ghost." Sheriff asked, nudging her gently with a tire. She just sank down to her knees at Fillmore's side.

"What happened? We saw Chick follow after you. He didn't hurt you again, did he?"

Foxy shook her head faintly, feeling cold all over even though the day was warm.

Fillmore nuzzled her gently, then pulled back. "You're freezin' cold, man. What happened?" He looked down at her worriedly.

She looked around with panic in her eyes, the eyes of a prey animal when cornered.

"C'mon, man. You'll feel better." Fillmore replied, petting her gently.

She whispered,_"Chick wants to rape me."_, and Fillmore drew back, setting his tire on the ground.

Strip, who was parked by Fillmore, was able to catch her whisper and his eyes widened considerably. Foxy yawned out of fear, and Fillmore nudged her gently. "C'mon, man. Let's go back to my dome."

They departed Flo's, and Fillmore said nothing on the way back. He cast a glance at her, and she was surprised to see that he looked worried. They reached the dome, and Fillmore ducked inside.

When he realized that Foxy hadn't followed him inside, he looked out at her. "Ya comin' in, man?"

Foxy nodded, then followed him into his dome, feeling slightly skittish. Foxy spotted the chair that she had slept in, and made a beeline for it, sinking down into it. Fillmore laid down at her side, the worry in his eyes returning. He nudged her gently, and she gently set her hand on his front.

"Ya all right?" He asked quietly, and she curled up against him for an answer.

"I didn't think so, man." He curled up around her, hugging her gently. She returned the hug, resting her head against his side gently.

"I-It was horrifying. I thought he was going to chase after me if I even tried to leave." She whispered, her voice shaking.

Fillmore's grip on her tightened slightly, and she took it as her cue to keep going.

"I played along and got him to bring me back here. I got rid of him by telling him that I was going to Flo's for some oil, and that I would meet him back at his trailer." She began to grow cold all over again, and she could feel Fillmore's hug tighten even more. "Now, i-if I'm not back there soon, he'll know, and come back for me."

Fillmore was silent, thinking over all that she had said.

"F-Fillmore?"

"Yeah, man?" He replied quietly.

"You're not m-mad, right?"

"Why would I be mad, man? It ain't your fault that Chick's like that." Fillmore replied, nuzzling her gently.

She sighed, and it was such a shaky-sounding sigh that Fillmore looked at her worriedly.

"Don't worry, man. I'm sure he's not gonna bother ya again."

She curled up at his side, and with him laying at her side, she soon fell asleep. He laid a tire over her protectively and pulled her closer to his side, looking out his beaded entryway, waiting for Chick to come find her. Chick never came, and Fillmore stood guard over her sleeping form the entire night, tensed and ready to pounce on the next car that drove up to his doorway.

The next morning, Foxy awoke with a terrible headache, and the top of Fillmore's dome seeming to be closer to her then usual. She rolled over onto her side, and was surprised when she discovered that she was lying on sea foam green painted metal. She looked around, still half asleep, and came to the conclusion that she was on Fillmore's roof. She smiled sleepily, then happened to glance out the doorway.

She saw a splash of green, and felt a knife of cold, chilling horror stab into her heart. She just knew that it was Chick out there, that he was watching her, and that he was ready to fight Fillmore over her. She couldn't let him get Fillmore, no matter what. "Hey. Hey, Fillmore. Fillmore, wake up." She hissed, patting his roof gently.

He yawned, and she felt herself sliding backwards. She gripped his roof with her hands and knees, trying not to fall, then whispered that Chick was waiting for them outside. "What should we do?" She breathed, her voice full of fear and panic.

"We're gonna go out, an' we're gonna go to Sarge's." He replied back.

"Sarge's?"

"Yeah. Sarge'll take care of ya."

"But he hates me."

"No he don't. He doesn't like Chick, but he just doesn't want to admit that he wants to be friends with ya."

"All right. Then to Sarge's. But where will you be? I don't want you getting hurt, Fillmore."

"I'm hopin' that Sarge'll let me stay too."

"If we both go out, then he's going to go for you, I know it. Then he's going to go for me."

"I'm goin' out first, an' hopefully he'll chase after me long enough for ya to get to Sarge's, and inside."

"Then what about you?"

"I'll come in afterwards. It'll be all right, Elizabeth."

"I hope you're sure, Fillmore."

"'Course I am. I'm not gonna let you get hurt 'cause of him." With that, Fillmore drove out the doorway, never looking back. She heard Chick tearing after Fillmore, his motor roaring, and knew that it was time to make her move.

She peeked out the beaded doorway, looking around cautiously for Chick. When she saw no one, she bolted across Fillmore's yard, and climbed over the fence. She crept along to Sarge's door, trying to move as fast and as quietly as possible. She pounded on the door timidly, and it rolled up.

When Sarge saw it was her, a look of disgust crossed his face. "Listen, I don't have much time. Chick's after me, and Fillmore's keeping him busy. Fillmore told me to come to you, and said that I'd be safe with you."

Sarge didn't want to let her in, but she looked horrified, and was visibly shaking with fear, so he knew that he didn't have much choice. He nodded his hood, then looked around, his eyes darting back and forth. "In. Now."

Foxy slipped by him so fast, he blinked in surprise.

He rolled the door down, then turned around to see where she had gotten to.

**Yay, I did it! Got this chapter up before my keyboard konked out! :D And aww, Fillmore's being a gentleman. :3 See you next week, Liz**


	30. Plans Change

She had sank down into a corner of his Surplus Hut, hugging her knees to her ribs like a child and shaking.

Sarge drove over to her slowly, and gently nudged her with a tire. "What did you do to Chick to make him come after you, soldier?"

"He wanted to rape me, and I tricked him into letting me go to Flo's while he went to his trailer." She whispered.

Sarge's expression softened. It was obvious that she was terrified out of her mind, and he knew what that felt like. "I never liked Hicks. He was always too arrogant and full of himself." Sarge said with a glare out the window.

He moved closer to Foxy, unsure if she would permit him to nuzzle her comfortingly. She closed the gap between them by inching closer to Sarge's side, then snuggling closer. He leaned against her comfortingly, feeling her lean back.

There was another pounding at the door, and Foxy squeaked in fear, hiding underneath Sarge. Sarge stiffened when she darted underneath his frame to hide, then stepped carefully over her before rolling to get the door.

Fillmore rolled in without a word, and Sarge rolled the door back down, and just in time. About two seconds later, there was a loud, echoing clang. It sounded like something heavy had just hit the door.

"I'll get you, Foxy! Don't you forget it!"

Foxy cringed, hiding underneath Sarge again. He stiffened up again, raising up on his shocks as he felt her shaking.

Fillmore, who was looking out the window, called in her direction, "It's all right now, man. He's leavin'."

Foxy crept out from underneath Sarge, looking like she had just seen a ghost. She went over to Fillmore's side, and laid down on her side, shaking with fear and as white as a sheet. Fillmore nuzzled her gently, and she pressed into his side.

"You two can stay until he leaves." Sarge replied shortly, and Foxy looked up.

"Bu-But if he doesn't see Fillmore coming from his own dome, then he'll know that I haven't left."

The two looked at her as though she were crazy, and she explained her plan, which was to pretend that she had left, in the hopes that Chick would also leave.

"It sounds like it might work, Soldier." Sarge replied, and Fillmore nodded in agreement. They stayed there for the rest of the day, and when night came around, Foxy cuddled up next to Fillmore, refusing to sleep on Sarge's couch.

Fillmore picked her up once she had fallen asleep, then set her on the couch, parking right next to the couch and falling asleep also. Sarge had gone outside to lower the flag and bring it back inside.

When he came back in, he found Fillmore sleeping next to Foxy, who was curled up on the couch after all, nearly touching Fillmore's side.

'_There's no doubt about it. That hippie's finally found himself someone._' Sarge thought to himself, shaking his hood in slight bewilderment. He rolled back to his mattress, and was soon asleep.

He nudged Fillmore awake with a tire early the next morning, then silently urged him to follow him into the surplus part of his building. "You should get back to your... home before Chick wakes up, hippie."

Fillmore nodded, then slipped out the door silently.

Sarge rolled the door back down, looking up at the sky. It was a deep bluish-purple color, stars littering it as far as the eye could see. He knew that in about two hours, the sun would be rising.

He heard a quiet moan from behind him, and he turned around to find Foxy walking towards him, looking more then half asleep.

"What's going on?" She mumbled, and yawned widely.

"We're going through with your plans to get rid of Hicks. Although you should be sleeping."

"I heard the door go up and it woke me up."

"Sorry."

Foxy nodded sleepily, then hobbled back to the sofa, overbalancing slightly and leaning to one side or the other. She toppled back to the surface of the couch, and curled up again. Her eyes popped open sleepily, and she sighed.

"Something wrong?" Sarge asked as he was rolling by her.

"I guess I'm so used to having either Mater, or Lightning, or Fillmore, or Red at my side that I can't fall asleep without one of them." Foxy replied, her words slurring together slightly.

Sarge rolled over to her side, pressing his grille against her gently. It seemed like that was all she needed, because she fell asleep almost instantly, curled up into a ball. Sarge looked down at her for a few minutes, a shadow of a smile crossing his bumper. He laid down beside the couch and was soon asleep also. He awoke when he heard his alarm going off, and hastily shut it off, in case it woke Foxy, who he was shocked to see had curled up on his hood. He gently set her down on the couch again, then closed the door to his living area.

He drove outside to raise the flag, then drove back in to find Foxy still sleeping. He idled at her side for a few minutes, trying to decide if he should wake her up or leave her sleeping. He decided to leave her sleeping, and tugged an extra blanket over her sleeping form. He gently shut the door again, then went to Flo's, figuring that it would need to look as though Foxy had really left. The others had already been informed that Foxy hadn't really left, and that Chick had attacked her.

As Sarge rolled into Flo's, the others dipped their hoods in greeting. When Chick rolled in a few minutes later, the others had various looks of sadness on their faces.

"Who died?" Chick joked, but quickly fell silent.

"Foxy's gone."

"What do you mean, 'gone'?"

"She was just here one minute, then she was surrounded by this blue haze, then she was just gone." Lightning replied, and his voice was so depressing that Sally cuddled up to his side. It looked as though she was trying to comfort him, and an expression of anger passed over Chick's face, but was gone as quickly as it had come.

"Guess I should be heading to the next town for the race that's comin' up. Later, McQueen. Later, Bug."

Mariana looked up gloomily, her expression making her seem like her best friend had just died. Chick departed shortly after, and about an hour after he left Flo's, they heard Roger starting himself up and driving off.

Lightning sighed with relief, then deliberately said, "He's nothing but a chicken." He laughed at the unintended pun.

"Why do ya say that, Rookie?"

"He attacked her, Doc. She's so much more easy to break then he is. That makes him a chicken."

"That's not all he did."

The others were surprised to hear Sarge speak.

"What are you saying, Sarge?" Lightning asked, giving Sarge a serious expression.

"Not my place to say what happened between them two." Sarge replied tonelessly, then began sipping his coffee.

"Fillmore, she trusts you more then any of us. Do you know what happened? And why was Foxy so frightened a couple of days ago?" Sheriff asked, but Fillmore shook his front end.

"I'm not sure if she would want me to tell ya. She seemed kinda touchy about it." He replied gloomily, and the others glanced around at one another. What could be that horrible that made Foxy as skittish as they had seen her?

Lightning looked down at his hood, frowning, deep in thought. He kept looking from one side of his hood to the other, as though comparing two things in his mind.

"I think I know what happened." He replied gravely.

"Will someone just say it?"

"He wanted to rape me."

The others jumped as Foxy sat down between Sarge and Fillmore.

"Thanks, Sarge." She offered him a gloomy smile that didn't reach her eyes, and he nodded his hood.

Mack, who had pulled up a few seconds before Foxy arrived, couldn't even begin to comprehend what she had said, and gave her a slightly cross-eyed, disgusted look. "How?" Was all he could manage to ask, and Foxy gave him a gloomy look.

"He's a pervert."

"He'll also soon be arrested." Sheriff replied protectively. Foxy leaned her head and left shoulder against Fillmore's side, and he leaned back, saying nothing.

"That's horrible. How did you even manage to get away?" Sally asked with sympathy.

"I played along for as long as I could, then stepped off his hood, saying that I was getting him some oil. He bought it and headed back to his trailer." Foxy replied, an ice-cold knife of fear stabbing through her body again, and quickly spreading.

"What happened to your sweatshirt, man?" Fillmore asked, seeing that there was a large hole in the front pocket.

"I guess it must've ripped." She replied, and Fillmore knew better then to press the matter after hearing her voice. In fact, Chick had managed to rip a hole in the sweatshirt by biting at it in a seductive way. She curled her long legs up at her side, and rested her entire left side against Fillmore, drawing comfort and warmth from his side.

"Sheriff's gonna have to take your place at the next race, if he expects on catching Chick. Plus, if Chick really thinks that you left, he won't be expecting anything suspicious." Foxy nodded, then sighed. Suddenly, she brightened slightly.

"What if I just hide in Lightning's trailer until Sheriff arrests Chick?"

Lightning shook his hood, then replied glumly that Chick might get even angrier if he spotted her while Sheriff was arresting him.

Foxy sighed, then reluctantly agreed.

"Besides, ya can still watch the race here." Strip gently nudged her with a tire, rolling up behind her.

"Isn't everyone going to the race, though?"

Red shook his front end, then Sally replied, "No, not all of us. Me, Red, and Lizzie usually stay behind."

"And I guess that I could stay here with ya, Foxy. No tellin' what Chick would be able to do." Strip gave her a gentle smile, which she returned shakily.

"Thanks, Strip. And thanks a bunch, you guys." There were hoods shaking 'no', tires being waved, their owners saying that no thanks was necessary. Flo rolled over to Foxy, setting a coffee down at her side.

"Here, honey. After what you've been through, I think you deserve it."

"Thanks, Flo." Foxy smiled wanly, then inhaled the warm steam coming off the coffee.

"It reminds me of what I think fall would smell like."

"What you THINK fall would smell like?" Sheriff asked, looking over at her curiously.

"Yeah, I can't smell."

"You can't?"

"Nope. It's pretty bad irony though. A fox with no sense of smell." She laughed lightly, but the others still looked confused and slightly worried. She sighed, then continued explaining that she had no idea why she couldn't smell, but she could taste everything that was handed to her and was edible. "Honestly, it's no big deal."

"Are you sure that you can't smell, man?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Foxy laughed. "After seventeen years of not smelling anything except air, I'm pretty sure."

"That explains why you haven't complained when Thunder's lying at your side." Lightning laughed, gently ruffling the fur on Thunder's head. Thunder, who was dead asleep, didn't wake up, and Foxy giggled.

"Why? Does he have dog breath?"

Lightning shook his hood with a grin.

"Does he have that permanent 'wet dog' smell?"

Another 'no'.

"Wait until he sits on your lap. You'll figure out why then."

"All right, why not just find out why now..."

"He's asleep right now." Lightning protested, but he was grinning. Next to him, Sally rolled her eyes, then gave him a hard nudge in the side with a tire.

"Stickers, just tell her."

"Fine. He's really gassy." Lightning, who was expecting a look of disgust, got a laugh from Foxy.

"My dog's gassy too. I think it's just my luck that all my favorite dogs are always the gassiest ones." She limped over to Thunder's side, and began petting him gently. He bolted awake at her touch and looked up at her expectantly, his tail wagging slightly, his ears pricked.

"How comes whenever she pets him, he slobbers all over her, but when I pet him all I get is a sigh and his back?" Lightning pouted, making the others laugh as Thunder licked Foxy. She scratched behind his ear, laughing as his foot began hitting the ground repeatedly. Lightning had a wicked idea abruptly, then began scratching behind Foxy's ear with a tire. For a few seconds, her foot began hitting the ground like Thunder's, then stopped when Lightning stopped, laughing as hard as he could.

"Knock it off." She replied, trying not to laugh.

"You'd make a good mutt, Foxy." Lightning grinned, and she laughed.

"Thanks, I try." The others chuckled, and Foxy began petting Thunder again. He got up, then set one front paw on each of Foxy's shoulders. He pulled backwards, stretching, and licked Foxy.

"Awww, how sweet." She replied, petting him and laughing. He licked her again, then got up and trotted towards the Butte.

"What's down at the Butte for him to do?" She asked Lightning, who grinned.

"He wants you to go play you-know-what with him."

"Not right now, okay Thunder?"

Thunder whined and came back to her side, his ears and tail drooping.

"Maybe later." She said, petting him gently. She went over to get her coffee, and was surprised when she turned around to find that he had followed her. "I was just going to come sit by you, silly boy." She said, ruffling his ears. He sat down, and so did she. She petted him gently while drinking her coffee, which was still warm. "Nothing better then coffee after a crappy night."

"Didn't you say that a few weeks ago?"

"Probably. It's my favorite thing to say." Lightning chuckled, and Thunder wagged his tail. "You're really furry, Thunder." Foxy commented.

"I think it's time to get him trimmed." Lightning said loudly, and within seconds, Thunder had disappeared from sight.

"Where'd he go?"

"Hiding." Lightning laughed.

"That's mean, Lightning." Foxy replied, but laughed anyways. She took another drink from her coffee, sighing happily and resting her back and left side against Fillmore gently, her eyelids lowering until the expression on her face changed to slight bliss.

"Hey, we hang around too Foxy." Brian replied, driving over with the triplets, DJ, Wingo, and Boost.

"You do? Then at least I won't be bored." She gave Lightning a smile, which was returned.

**Finally, a properly scheduled update! XD**


	31. Mariana vs Christine

The triplets rolled over to her side and Harry nudged her gently. "Foxy?"

She smiled and patted Harry gently on the hood. "Hi, Harry. What's up?"

"Do you wanna have a sleepover?"

"That sounds like fun. Sure."

Harry giggled, then nuzzled Foxy, his eyes falling shut as his engine purred quietly.

Foxy hugged him back, and the others chuckled. "What do you want to do until we have our sleepover?"

"Go race at the Butte?"

"I think you'd beat me, but okay."

"I would?"

"Yeah, Cars are faster then humans."

"Then let's not go to the Butte, 'cause then it won't be fair."

"You're so sweet, Harry." She patted his hood again, looking at him fondly. He nuzzled her gently, a bashful expression on his face, his hood turning a slight pink.

"Looks like someone's got a crush." Lightning whispered to Brian, and the two shared a snicker.

"What do you want to do then Harry?"

"We could go play with Thunder, right?"

"Sure, but first we need to find him."

"Okay! It'll be like hide and seek!"

Foxy smiled, drank the rest of her coffee, then stood up. "I think he took off into Lightning's cone, so let's start there."

Harry nodded, then the two set off towards Lightning's cone. Soon they dragged out a seemingly dead Thunder. "Thunder, stop playing Possum, please? All we want to do is hang out." Foxy pleaded, but Thunder still remained as limp as a piece of clothing. "Thanks, Lightning, now he thinks that we're going to s-h-a-v-e him."

Lightning snickered, and Foxy seemed to shudder as a cold wind blew by her.

"Foxy, what's wrong?" Harry asked, and even Thunder stopped fooling around long enough to lift his head up to look at her.

"Nothing's wrong, Harry. It's just a little cold out."

"That's because it's almost winter."

"It is?" Foxy asked, and Harry nodded. Thunder limply flopped to the ground after seeing that Foxy was fine. "Oh, Thunder!" Foxy sighed in irritation, making the others chuckle. "Hmm..." Foxy frowned, thinking hard about how to get Thunder up. "I think I know what to do. Harry, do you think you could help me?"

"What do you need, Foxy?" He asked curiously.

"I need you to help me lift him up."

"But he's heavy!" Harry protested.

"I'll carry him, you just need to help me lift him up for a little." Foxy grabbed Thunder's front paws, and pulled him over her shoulders, Harry pushing his rump up.

"There." Foxy replied with satisfaction a few minutes later, seeing that Thunder was safely draped across her shoulders as she held his paws.

"What are you doing to that poor guy?" Brian asked with a sigh and slight chuckle.

"It's a type of carrying position that my world's firemen use."

"So you decided to use it on Thunder?" Sheriff laughed, and Foxy nodded.

"Yep."

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Doc chuckled, and Foxy sat down at Fillmore's side, sliding Thunder gently from her shoulders so he laid at her side. "Thunder, we're not going to shave your fur off." She said firmly, and he popped up, his tail wagging as he licked her face. "Okay, okay, you're happy!" She spluttered as the others laughed.

"He must think ya taste good, man."

"No, I think he just likes that I spoil him." She grinned, scratching Thunder's belly when he rolled onto his back. "Isn't that right?" "She laughed as he barked demandingly as she stopped. "All right, all right. Spoiled. What did I tell you?" She laughed, then shivered again as another gust of wind blew by her. "Jeez, it's cold!" She complained, snuggling against Fillmore and pulling her arms out of her sleeves. She placed the bottom of the sweatshirt over her knees, then hugged them to her chest.

Fillmore put her hood up, then chuckled. "Now ya look like a blue bush, man."

Foxy grinned, the sweatshirt hood drooping over her eyes. "I feel more like a hedgehog, or like an armadillo." She complained, and the others chuckled. Thunder laid at her side, his tail thumping against the concrete happily as he tried to warm her up. Finally, she gave up and stuck her legs out from underneath her sweatshirt. Thunder didn't hesitate to sit down on her legs with a sigh, much to the amusement of the others.

"Comfortable?" Foxy asked with evident sarcasm. Thunder wagged his tail in her face and barked happily. Foxy sighed, and Lightning told Thunder to get up. Foxy shook her head, then hugged Thunder tightly to her. "He's all right. I've had a dog that's a hundred and sixty pounds sit on me before. More then once too." Thunder abruptly turned around, then laid down on top of Foxy, pushing her down onto the cement as he stretched out, placing his paws on her chest and setting his muzzle between them.

"Thunder!" Mariana giggled, and Lightning ordered Thunder off Foxy, who was laughing too hard to respond except for petting him. Foxy looked up at Thunder to see that he had fallen asleep and was snoring quietly.

"He must be comfortable, because he fell asleep." She replied with an ill-suppressed giggle.

Later that evening, Foxy began yawning quietly and snuggling into Fillmore's side, Thunder having long since awoken and left with Mariana and Jack. Fillmore nudged Foxy gently with a tire, and she just snuggled against his side more, her eyelids drooping sleepily.

"C'mon, man. Let's go." Foxy stood up reluctantly, her empty sleeves flopping limply at her sides as she wrapped her arms around her ribcage sleepily, trying to keep herself warm. Fillmore pulled out of Flo's, driving slightly ahead of Foxy, who was lagging behind, her feet dragging sleepily. A large, cold gust of wind from the side made her utter a soft whine of complaint and hurry up to walk next to Fillmore.

They arrived back at his dome shortly, and Foxy wasted no time in cuddling up next to Fillmore and falling asleep after murmuring, "Night, Fillmore."

Fillmore smiled, then draped his blanket over her. "Night, Elizabeth." He replied quietly, sank lower on his shocks, then drifted off to sleep.

The night was shattered a few hours later by a loud, shrill, frightened scream. Foxy bolted upwards, and was halfway to the door by the time Fillmore had woken up. "Hurry, Fillmore! That was Mariana!" Foxy shot out of Fillmore's dome and towards the Cozy Cone, where Thunder, Max, and Lightning were holding down a Plymouth Fury, who was growling, snarling, and uttering threats every few seconds.

Mariana sped over to hide behind Foxy's legs, shaking and whimpering, tears filling her windshield.

"What's goin' on?" Sheriff and Doc had soon joined them, yawning slightly.

"You?" Doc asked Christine in amazement.

For an answer, Christine snarled at him. "I'll kill you all once you let go, do you hear me?!"

"I think we ALL heard you!" Foxy shouted at Christine.

Christine narrowed her eyes, but said nothing.

"Why are you so hung up over capturing her?"

"Because she's a BRAT, and she's my own!"

"THAT'S A LIE!" The others drew back in shock. Mariana had never roared at anyone before.

"What did you say, runt?" Christine hissed, glaring at Mariana.

"That's a lie. You're not my mother." Mariana replied with a death glare in Christine's direction. "I never consciously knew my mother, since you killed her. You and Chick. You're both murderers, and should receive the same fate."

Foxy was taken aback at this sudden show of boldness from a car she had previously known to be fearful of most things. Mariana was shaking from roof to tire with pent-up fury, and Foxy took a few steps back, knowing that she would snap soon. Mariana suddenly and without warning lunged for Christine, and Max, Thunder, and Lightning scattered quickly. Christine's eyes widened, and she turned tail and fled, but Mariana was slightly faster, her eyes blazing with hate. She launched herself into the air, and jumped onto Christine's trunk. She shoved her tires against Christine's back window as hard as she could, popping both tires and cracking Christine's window severely. Christine slid to a stop, and Mariana flew onto her hood, glaring daggers at Christine, puffing herself up. She had grown a few inches since her last meeting with Christine, and looked more intimidating.

"Run, Christine. Run away. Never. Come. Back." Mariana hissed, adding a slight growl on the end.

In one sudden movement, Christine had flipped Mariana off her hood, pinned her to the ground with a tire, then hissed, "Don't tell me what to do, you little shitter."

Lightning shoved Christine off Mariana, glaring at her angrily. Mariana got up, shook herself off, then ran to Foxy, hiding behind her and shaking.

"Leave her alone." Foxy snarled, her eyes throwing sparks.

"Look, it's my dinner that GOT AWAY!" Christine snarled at Foxy, who snarled back.

"Look, it's the murderer who tried to kill me."

Christine sneered in her direction, then was surprised out of her hatred by Max and Lightning ramming into her from the sides. Thunder jumped onto her hood and growled, biting into her hood. Foxy suddenly had an idea, then jumped onto Christine's hood. She bit down hard on Christine's hood, making her scream in pain, her engine roaring to life angrily. "You're all a bunch of shitters! I'll get you one day!" She sped off towards Frank's fields, Thunder jumping off quickly. Foxy couldn't jump off in time, and instead ended up flying over Christine's windshield, hitting her trunk hard, then bouncing off it into the air.

"I got you!" Lightning and Max exclaimed, nearly hitting each other as they swerved with Foxy.

"I'll catch ya!" Fillmore exclaimed, joining the two in trying to catch her.

She uttered a loud shriek as she landed on Strip's hood abruptly, and rolled off limply. Strip remained parked at the entrance to his cone, his bumper nearly touching the ground, his eyes wide with shock. Lightning and Max raced over to Foxy, who had landed at the bottom of the ramp and was now lying in a limp heap.

Fillmore reached her first, and nudged her gently. "Elizabeth? Ya all right, man?" He asked cautiously, looking down at her worriedly. She didn't reply, and he nudged her slightly harder.

"She just came outta nowhere." Strip said, still slightly shocked. Thunder whined, coming over beside Fillmore and nudging Foxy gently.

Lightning replied, "I think she'll be okay. She maybe just got knocked out...?" He tried to sound confident, but the others could hear the doubt in his voice.

Doc rolled over, and confirmed Lightning's guess. "She probably woulda been worse then unconscious if Strip wouldn't have caught her." He replied, and Mariana rolled over to Foxy. She nudged Foxy gently, all the fire gone from her eyes.

"Foxy, wake up." Foxy remained seemingly lifeless, and Mariana nudged her slightly harder. "Foxy, wake up. Please wake up." Mariana pleaded, her eyes dancing with tears.

Strip picked up Foxy's limp body gently, and set her on his hood. "It's the least I can do, with her landin' on my hood an' all." He replied to Lightning and Doc telling him that he didn't have to keep her overnight, and that she would most likely wake up soon. The others began trickling back towards their homes, the excitement over, and Strip was about to put the door down when Mariana drove to the bottom of the ramp, seeming slightly anxious.

"Mr. Strip?" She asked shyly, and he looked at her with a tired smile.

"Yes, darlin? What can I do for you?"

"D-Do you mind if I sleep next to Foxy tonight? I-In case Christine comes back when Foxy wakes up?"

"Not at all. Come on in dear." She followed his retreating tailfin as he gently set Foxy on the couch.

"What happened, hon?" Mrs. Weathers rolled into the room, and braked suddenly when she saw Foxy lying limply on the couch. "What is that?" She asked quietly, driving closer.

"This here's Foxy. She landed on my hood, and fainted, dear."

Mariana, who had been hiding behind Strip's back tire shyly, yelped as he backed up slightly and nearly ran her over. "Sorry, darlin'. I didn't see you there."

Mariana drove around to his side, looking up at Strip's wife with slight fear.

"What's your name, honey?" Lynda asked softly, lowering herself on her shocks to smile at Mariana.

"I'm Mariana." Mariana replied shyly, and Strip gently nudged her with a tire.

"She just wanted to stay the night until Foxy wakes up, darlin'."

"You can stay longer then that if you want, hon." Lynda replied warmly, and Mariana offered a small smile.

"Thank you, but I don't want to be rude, because Mater told me that being rude isn't nice."

"Aren't you sweet? You're welcome to stay with us, Mariana."

Mariana blushed slightly at the compliment, and whispered "Thank you", looking down at her tires bashfully.

"You get some sleep, darlin'. I'm sure Foxy's gonna wake up soon." Strip told her with a smile, gently patting her roof with a tire.

"Okay, Mr. Strip. Thanks again for letting me stay the night." Lynda nuzzled Mariana gently with a smile.

"You're quite welcome dear. If you need anythin', just let us know, all right?"

Mariana nodded, then yawned quietly. "Oh, excuse me." She giggled quietly, and Lynda nudged her up onto the couch.

"Go on, time for bed." Mariana rolled up beside Foxy, and sank lower on her shocks, smiling gently at Lynda.

"Thank you again for letting me stay for the night."

"Our pleasure darlin'. Sleep well." Lynda replied quietly, nuzzling Mariana again before rolling out of the room. '_Were my parents this nice? I hope so._' Mariana drifted off to sleep, snuggled up against Foxy.

Foxy became conscious again after about a half an hour, looking around cautiously. "Where am I?"

"You're in Strip's cone." Mariana whispered back after yawning quietly.

"What are you doing here?" Foxy asked curiously.

"I was sleeping, until you got up."

"No, I meant why aren't you with Mater?"

"I was worried about you, Foxy."

"You're so sweet. Thank you." Foxy smiled before patting Mariana on the hood gently. "Now, let's get back to sleep." Foxy smiled, and Mariana snuggled against Foxy's side again, and the two fell asleep again.

**Naww, Mariana's so cute. ^^ I really love this chapter because it shows how un-scared (is that even a word?) she is when facing Christine. :3 She really seems to like Foxy, unsurprisingly. xD**


	32. A Swim and A Campfire on A Starry Night

In the morning, Foxy woke up right after Mariana, who woke up about ten minutes after Strip and Lynda.

"Mornin', you two." Strip greeted them, and Lynda smiled.

"Hi, Mr. Strip." Mariana returned with a smile. "Foxy's awake now. See?"

Foxy patted Mariana on the hood gently. "Yeah, I've come back to life." She imitated Dracula's voice, then laughed.

Lynda and Strip chuckled, then Strip nudged Foxy gently. "Want to go see the others?"

"Sure. Thanks, Strip, although I can't remember much of last night." Foxy replied with a shrug, and Strip nodded his hood in understanding.

"The same thing happened to me when I crashed, Foxy."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Foxy replied, looking in his direction mournfully.

Strip shook his head, then replied that it was part of the past. "I like to keep movin' on." He replied, and Foxy nodded.

"Me too!"

The group left the cone shortly, and Foxy stretched her spine, twisting it from side to side and producing two loud cracks each way.

"What was that?" Strip asked, looking in her direction worriedly.

"I cracked my back. It's all right."

"Only if you're sure, Foxy."

"Of course. I used to crack it even more then that at home." Foxy sat down next to Fillmore when they arrived at Flo's, and he ruffled her hair.

"Glad you're all right, man."

"Thanks, Fillmore."

"That's an amazin' amount of force, Foxy." Sheriff said after nudging her in greeting.

"What do you mean?"

"You bit Christine on the hood last night."

"I did?"

"Don't you remember anythin' that happened last night, man?"

Foxy shook her head, then looked up at Fillmore. "Did I really bite Christine's hood?"

Fillmore nodded, and Strip nudged her.

"You'll remember in a few hours, Foxy. Don't let it worry ya."

"Okay, Strip." She gave him a smile, then was instantly tackled to the ground by Harry, who was hugging her tightly and nudging her with his hood.

"Foxy you're okay!"

"Hi, Harry!" She laughed, then patted his grille gently. "Come on, let me up, you silly Barracuda."

Harry giggled, but reversed so Foxy could sit up. She set her hand on his hood and he blushed again, his engine purring.

"I was worried about you."

"Aren't you sweet, thank you, Harry." Foxy smiled at him fondly, and his engine purred louder as he lay at her feet.

"What did I tell you? Someone's got a crush." Lightning whispered to Brian, who nodded while trying not to laugh.

Foxy was petting Harry absentmindedly, running her fingertips along the cool surface of Harry's hood, and he couldn't have looked more awed.

"Hey, Foxy, you wanna go to the waterfall?"

"Sure, Harry." Foxy gave him a smile, and he blushed. Foxy giggled, then patted his hood gently.

The two departed Flo's shortly, and reached the waterfall in about an hour. Foxy took off her sweatshirt and tossed it on the shore before gingerly stepping onto the rocks and going onto a flat one near the waterfall.

"Here I go!" She called out, and neatly dove into the water, jumping high enough to do a front flip before she straightened out, slicing into the water like a knife. She popped up about a minute later, shrieking loudly. "IT'S COLD!"

Harry jumped in, and swam over to her side. "No it's not."

"I think it is." She whimpered, and was heading towards the shore, her teeth chattering when Fillmore, Red, Strip, Lightning and Doc came around a rock wall that partially obstructed the view of the waterfall.

"Hi, guys! What're you guys doing here?"

For an answer, Fillmore drove into the water and swam over to her. "Ya wanted to play Marco Polo, man?"

"Oh, hey yeah! Great idea!" Foxy grinned. "Who wants to be Marco first?"

The others shook their hoods, and Foxy sighed. "All right, I'll be Marco."

Red, Lightning, and Strip drove into the water, joining Fillmore. Doc drove over to the same rock Foxy had dove off of, and jumped in. A crafty, wry grin appeared on Lightning's face when he spotted the rock, and he swam over to it.

"Lightning!" Foxy protested when Lightning got out.

"Keep your... hair on, I'm just jumping."

Foxy sighed and rolled her eyes, but couldn't suppress a grin. Lightning backed up until his back bumper was nearly touching the wall, then rocketed forwards, jumping into space.

"KA-CHOW!" he exclaimed, landing in the water with a large splash. Doc and Strip rolled their eyes, while Foxy laughed.

"What was that, Lightning?"

"That was... I don't really know."

Foxy laughed and shook her head. "I'll show you how it's done." She clambered out, then headed to the rock. She backed up from the edge, then raced towards the edge, being careful not to slip.

She jumped high into the air, making a large arc. She did two front flips before diving perfectly into the water. When she popped back up next to Doc, the others congratulated her on her dive. "That was really good." Doc replied, nudging her with a tire.

"Thanks you guys." Foxy replied with a light blush and shy grin.

She put her hand over her eyes, then called out, "Marco?"

"Polo."She turned towards the voice, her hand still over her eyes.

"I know that it's not Red who said that... Red, you're going to be good at this game, wherever you are." She heard a chuckle to her right, and her head snapped in that direction. She thrust her other hand out, and heard a splash. She sighed, then heard a snicker. She swam towards the snicker, and just barely missed tagging someone.

"Come on, that's not fair." She whimpered, laughing a little. "Marco."

"Polo." She thrust her hand out, and felt it hit metal.

"Aha!" She opened her eyes to find herself practically on Doc's hood.

"I got you!" She exclaimed triumphantly.

He chuckled, then continued the game. Foxy swam as fast as she could as quietly as she could away from him, trying not to giggle and give away her position. She caught Fillmore's eye, and swam over to him.

"I'm climbing up, okay?" She whispered, and he nodded. She scrambled onto his roof, and laid down, watching Doc nearly catch Harry. After a few seconds, Foxy began to grow cold again.

"It's too cold, I'm going back into the water." She whispered, and thought she saw Doc's hood turn in her direction. "Swim, Fillmore. Don't let him get you." She nearly giggled as she whispered while floating at Fillmore's side. "I can duck underneath him." She did just that, and yelped when she felt his tire on her head. "Where did you come from?" She asked around her laughter. He chuckled, and she sighed. "My turn." She shut her eyes, and began the game again. "Marco!"

"Polo!" She swam towards the sound of the voice, and heard frantic splashing, so she knew she was close. When she thought she was close enough, she thrust her hand out, and tagged air. "Huh?" She thrust her hand into the same spot, and got air again. "This usually works." She muttered, thrusting her hand into the same spot again.

"Foxy, just open your eyes."

"Nope, that's cheating."

"Just do it. You tagged someone."

"No, I tagged air, Lightning."

"Technically, you tagged someone."

Foxy sighed, then opened her eyes. She laughed when she saw her hand hovering in the air between Strip's tailfin and his trunk. "That explains it." She laughed harder, and Strip began chuckling too. The game continued for another few hours, until Foxy began shivering slightly.

"C'mon, man. You're cold. Let's get out."

"N-N-No, Fillmore, r-r-really, I'm ok-k-kay, really."

Fillmore shook his front end then began pushing her towards the shore gently but firmly. She had no choice but to stagger onto shore, soaked to the bone, her clothes sopping wet and her shirt going down to her knees as she shivered and shook.

"I-It's even colder out here then it was in there, F-F-Fillmore-e-e."

Lightning laughed guiltily as Foxy's teeth chattered together. "Any bonfires t-t-tonight?" She joked, and Fillmore brightened.

"That's a great idea, man."

"R-R-Really?" Foxy asked, sitting down on the ground, shaking as the sun began to set. Fillmore nodded, then began gathering dead sticks and leaves to start the fire. He was able to find a dead, fallen pine tree close by, and began breaking off branches, Lightning eventually going over to help. Soon, the group had made a rough bonfire pit using rocks, and clearing the ground of any weeds or leaves that might catch fire.

"Who's gonna light it?" Strip asked curiously.

"I got it." Lightning replied, then fired up his engine with an ear-deafening roar, making fire shoot out of his tail pipes. He leaned closer to the pile of sticks and twigs, and lit a twig on fire. They all watched as the flame slowly crept up the twig, then slowly grew bigger, engulfing more twigs. Fillmore parked at Foxy's side a short while later after seeing that the fire wasn't going to go out, and felt her lean into his side. Her sweatshirt was damp, having soaked up some of the water from her shirt. She had her hair tied back in a loose ponytail, the end slung over one shoulder. He couldn't help but glance down at her once with a smile and think that she was the prettiest human he had ever seen. Not to mention, the ONLY human he had ever seen. He looked up at the sky, seeing all the reds, pinks, and oranges, and was instantly reminded of Foxy's hair color. A darker color red, almost a copper color.

He loved it, how soft it was, how long it was, the way it seemed to flow down her back so effortlessly. He stared into the now-large flame, thinking about Foxy. Red had parked on the other side of Foxy, and Harry had managed to lay down in between Foxy and Red. Doc and Strip were on the other side of the bonfire, talking back and forth about racing. Lightning returned shortly with Sally, and the two parked in front of the fire, snuggling together. Foxy sighed contentedly, the fire warm against her side. She loved fires, and thought that there was nothing better then stretching out on the floor in front of a roaring fireplace to let its heat soak into her very being.

She felt safe in the world she was in, a feeling she could say she hadn't had in her world. She wanted to stay, but also see her friends. Her thoughts eventually sank into her subconscious mind, and she too stared into the fire, remembering the past campfires she had sat by.

"There's an idea." She said suddenly, and it was so abrupt that the others turned to look at her.

"What's that, Foxy?" Lightning asked, and Foxy looked in his direction.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, I was just thinking."

"'Bout what?" Doc asked, and Foxy smiled.

"The other campfires I've been around. How I used to like to roast sticks."

"Roast sticks? What're you goin' on about?" Strip asked, looking over at her in confusion.

"Yeah. You get a really long stick, one that you can reach into the fire without getting burned, and you let it catch on fire and slowly burn shorter and shorter. I always used to do that when I was a little kid." She smiled sheepishly, and Fillmore smiled.

"Sounds groovy, man."

"Really? You think so?" Foxy asked, giving him a small smile. He nodded, and she grinned.

"What was the point of it though?" Strip asked.

"There was none. That's why it was fun. You didn't have to try and be the best at anything, or the worst at anything, it was just 'catch your stick on fire, and wait until the flame burns out so you can draw with the tip of the stick.'" Foxy laughed quietly at the memory, and Lightning nodded in approval. "Although I haven't done it in years, so I'd most likely end up burning my fingers." She laughed, then sighed, leaning back against Fillmore's side. They stayed around the bonfire, talking or looking up at the stars, letting the fire burn lower and lower.

Finally, when the fire was nearly completely out, Foxy produced a bucket out of nowhere. "Someone switch their headlights on, please?" She recieved five sets of headlights, glowing brightly, and laughed. "Thanks, guys." She went over to the waterfall, and scooped up a bucketful of water, then lugged it back over to the remains of the campfire. "Stand back, because this is gonna get smoky." She warned, and poured the water on the fire, sending up a large cloud of smoke. She fanned the smoke out of her face, coughing slightly. She went back over to the waterfall, and got another bucket of water, and poured it on the fire, sending up more smoke and sufficiently drowning the ground in water, dousing the fire. "There." She nodded firmly, fanning the smoke out of her way. She ducked underneath the curtain of smoke to where the others were, and the group headed back towards town. She yawned sleepily, saying good night to the others before heading into Fillmore's dome, following him.

She curled up at his side and was asleep in seconds. Fillmore smiled, snuggled closer to her, then fell asleep also. She whimpered in her sleep, then shuddered and moved closer to Fillmore. She rolled over, curling up into a ball and resting her head against Fillmore's side with another whimper. Fillmore opened an eye and looked down at her worriedly. He noticed that she was still asleep, and set a tire over her, pulling her closer. He smiled as she snuggled against him more and stopped whimpering. Fillmore sank lower on his shocks, then fell asleep again, his tire still laid over Foxy protectively.

The next morning, Foxy awoke early to a cold wind blowing over her. She shivered and snuggled closer to Fillmore, still shaking slightly. Fillmore nuzzled her gently, and she purred quietly, feeling instantly warmer. She curled up and fell back asleep in minutes, feeling the tire across her back and side tighten gently, pulling her closer. Fillmore woke up about an hour later to find Foxy curled up and his tire hugging her protectively. He listened to her purr contentedly, like an oversized, long-haired cat, and smiled before petting her hair gently. It seemed to have poofed up a lot, and Fillmore could only guess because of the chill in the early morning air. Foxy woke up about an hour after Fillmore, yawning and stretching.

**Who else loves campfires? Seriously, is it just me? :) Oh well, catch ya next weekend, Liz**


	33. An Afro, A Disco, An Accident

"Morning, Fillmore." She greeted him with a sleepy smile after seeing that he was awake, her hair poofing into long, frizzy hair.

"Mornin', man." He replied with a chuckle.

"What's so-" She paused and yawned midsentence, then gave him a soft smile and continued. "What's so funny?"

"Your hair's all poofed up."

"It is?" She ran her fingers through her hair, and discovered that it was true. "Maybe if I brush it, it'll take the frizz out." She replied with a sleepy smile. She took out her pocket hairbrush and worked it through her hair. Once she had finished, she looked up at Fillmore. "How about now?" Her hair was as smooth as silk one minute, then the next it was even poofier then before.

Fillmore shook his front end with a smile. "It got worse, man."

"Oh, I give up." She replied, her voice muffled as she fell purposely facefirst into the beanbag chair.

Fillmore laughed, then gently petted her hair. "Y'know, we could make it into an afro."

"An afro? Really?"

"If it's this crazy, then sure."

"Let's do it."

They set to work making Foxy's long hair into a large, reddish-brown afro, and in about ten minutes it was finished. "Wow, cool! Thanks, Fillmore!"

"No problem, man." He replied with his usual smile.

Foxy looked up at her afro with delight, and laughed. "I've always wanted an afro, but I could never figure out how to make one." She heard the faint sound of Sly and The Family Stone's 'Thank You', and began bobbing her head to the beat, making her afro sway and bob. Fillmore chuckled, then turned his record player up slightly louder.

"_Lookin' at the devil, grinnin' at his gun, fingers started shakin', I begin to run. Bullets started chasin', I begin to stop. We begin to wrestle, I was on the top. I want to thank you, for lettin ' me be myself, again! Thank you, for lettin' me be myself, again!_"

"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin', Fillmore?" She asked with a sly grin, bobbing her head to the beat.

"Totally, man." He replied, and pressed a button close to the record player with his tire. A disco ball popped out of the ceiling, and the lights dimmed slightly. They began dancing side by side, with Foxy singing along to the song.

"_Stiff under the collar, fluffy in the face! Chit chat chatter tryin', stuffy in the place! Thank you for the party, but I could never stay. Many thangs is on my mind, words in the way! Thank you, for lettin' me be myself, again! Thank you, for lettin' me be myself, again!_"

"You're pretty good at dancin' to disco, man." Fillmore said with a smile, and Foxy blushed.

"I took lessons a while back."

"_Dance to the music, all night long. Everyday people, singin' a simple song. Mama's so happy, mama start to cry. Papa still singin', 'You can make it if you try!' I want to thank you, for lettin' me be myself, again! (Different strokes for different folks, yeah!) Thank you, for lettin' me be myself, again! Flamin' eyes of people fear, burnin' into you. Many men are missin' much, hatin' what they do! Youth and truth are makin' love, dig it for a starter now. Dyin' young is hard to take, sellin' out is harder! Thank you, for lettin' me be myself, again! I want to thank you, for lettin' me be myself, again! Thank you, for lettin' me be myself, again! Thank you, for lettin' me be myself, again! I want to thank you, for lettin' me be myself, again!_"

As the song finished, Foxy struck the traditional pose with a grin.

"Right on, man!" Fillmore gave her a smile, and Foxy blushed.

"Thanks, Fillmore." She replied in a quiet voice with a bashful grin. Fillmore chuckled and nudged her gently. She blushed even redder, then looked out the door to hide her face. "Is that snow on the ground, or just frost?" She asked, seeing white crystals across the patches of tall grass.

"Probably frost. We don't normally get a lot of snow around here, man."

"That's good. That means that you can enjoy it even more when its here." Foxy and Fillmore ducked out of his dome, and Foxy's hair poofed up even more. "BRRRR, it's cold out here!" Foxy replied, shivering and looking around at the town, the leaves on the trees and bushes covered with frost. She looked Fillmore's way, only to discover that he wasn't behind her anymore. "Fillmore?" She asked in confusion, her eyes sweeping across his yard.

"What's the matter, man?" Fillmore asked, exiting his dome with a long strip of cloth.

"There you are." She giggled, and Fillmore offered her a smile before holding out the cloth.

"Here ya go, Elizabeth."

"Thanks, Fillmore. That was sweet of you." She replied with a smile after taking the object and seeing that it was a tye-dyed scarf. She wrapped it securely around her throat, then hugged his front.

"I should have some gloves in here somewhere..." She mumbled to herself, just loud enough for Fillmore to hear. She began searching her pockets, digging through her cargo jeans pockets. "Aha! Here they are!" She exclaimed happily, pulling on the gloves, which were a dark purple color outside with a woolly, fuzzy interior. "Purple's my favorite color, although I like all the colors of the rainbow, except beige. It's so boring." She told Fillmore, who nodded in agreement.

"Ya cold any more?" Fillmore asked, nuzzling her side gently.

"Nope. Thanks, Fillmore." She gave him a smile, then the two departed his yard for Flo's.

"Foxy, your hair exploded!" Harry exclaimed, and Foxy burst out laughing. Giggling, she told him that it was an afro. "Ohh, okay." He replied, but still looked suspicious.

"Come on over, it didn't explode."

Harry drove over to her side, and cautiously patted it. "Hey, it's springy!" He giggled, patting her hair hard and watching his tire bounce off it. Foxy laughed, then Sara and Paul came over, patting their tires on her hair also.

A short while later, Harry, Mariana, Jack, Sara, and Paul were bouncing their tires off Foxy's afro. Foxy, who was laughing too hard to speak, didn't seem to mind. Finally, gasping for breath and giggling weakly, she asked when the next race was. Lightning laughed, seeing Harry sneak one more tire bounce before he grinned and snuggled into Foxy's side, his engine purring and his supercharger rumbling, turning the purr into a lion's rumbling growl.

"Not tomorrow, but the next day." Lightning replied, and Foxy nodded.

"And this is for the Cup?"

"This is the last one before the race for the Cup."

"So I guess I'm going to have to stay here this time, right?" She asked, even though she knew the answer. Lightning nodded, and Strip nudged her gently.

"It'll be all right, Foxy. Chick'll be at the race." Foxy nodded, and shivered slightly. She snuggled into Fillmore's side, working her way into a patch of warm sunlight. As soon as she felt the warmth from the sun, she curled into a ball, purring. Fillmore chuckled and patted her afro, making her purr louder. Max chuckled, and Foxy smiled his way.

"Hey, Max."

"Hey, Foxy. You want to go down to the Butte?"

"Sure, what's up?" She asked, getting up.

"Just wanted to talk." He replied with a smile, and Foxy gave him a slightly panicked look. She remembered what had happened the last time he had wanted to talk, and she didn't feel like risking her life again.

"Okay." She asked, watching him carefully as he rolled past her, out of Flo's, and down towards the Butte.

"Are you coming or what?" He called, and she sighed.

"Yeah, I'm coming." She walked towards Max, her ankle almost fully healed and barely a limp in her step. She followed him down to the Butte, and the two stopped where the others looked down at the track. Neither one said anything for a while, just looked out upon the empty, desolate track. Foxy sat down, getting tired of standing.

"So, you and Fillmore?"

"What about us?" Foxy asked tonelessly, her eyes looking up at Max with an unwavering hard stare.

"How are you two? Are you together, aren't you, is it just a close friendship?"

"I'm not sure, Max. Everybody tells me that we should just get together, and start making out, but I just... don't know."

"And that's okay, I-I mean that you don't know." He blushed, but continued.

"It means that you aren't ready for a relationship yet."

Foxy grunted emotionlessly, then turned back to the empty track, staring as intently at it as though she could see cars whizzing around it.

Max sighed, then a switch seemed to have been flipped in his mind. "You and Chick didn't do anything down here, right?" He frowned, giving her a hard glare, his eyelids coming down to partially cover his pupils. It was the exact same glare Foxy used occasionally.

Foxy gave him the same glare, and replied, "Like I haven't seen you creeping around town with that Miata at your side, right?"

"What Mia and I do isn't your business." He replied coldly, and Foxy flinched slightly as he rolled closer to her, his glare never wavering.

"Besides talking, NO. WE DIDN'T." Foxy replied through clenched teeth in a hiss, her anger slowly rising. "Can't you cars just LAY OFF?"

Then, without realizing what he was doing, his anger taking control, Max rammed into her, sending her flying backwards, nearly to the track. She landed flat on her back, and was still. Too still. Deathly still. Max shook his hood in anger, then drove down to the track, rolling straight past her limp form.

'_She deserved it, she was talking about me and Mia like it was a bad thing! Why did you ever make that stupid wish, Elizabeth? If you hadn't, then I could've still been home, in the garage, where I belonged! Where you belonged!_' Max thought angrily, roaring around the track at his top speed, pushing himself to go even faster, barely feeling the exhaustion that was slowly creeping through his engine because of the adrenaline pumping through it.

Finally, a few hours later, panting heavily, he rolled slowly to a stop beside Foxy's still form. "Oh, god..." He panted, horrified as he looked down at Foxy. Her hair was drooping and uncurling into her natural form as the day got warmer, cascading down her shoulders and covering her face. "W-What have I done?" He whispered in horror, looking down at her in panic. He nudged her roughly, unable to stop shaking. "Liz, wake up. Liz, please wake up. Please, please, please wake up." He got no response, and began panicking, pacing at her side. He heard a sound like a whisper, and turned towards her.

She wheezed out a breath and whispered again. "M-Max, why-"

"I was mad about Chick trying that with you, and I lost my temper." He replied nuzzling her gently.

"OW." She squeaked quietly as his bumper hit her in the stomach by accident. Max cringed and backed off, casting his eyes down to his hood guiltily.

"Do you think you can get up?"

Foxy slowly got to her feet for an answer, and Max rolled forwards, offering her a ride on his hood.

"No, I'm all right. I think I can make it." She replied, and Max thought he saw a cloud of fear settle in her eyes. He looked down at his hood, then the two departed the Butte, Foxy limping along beside him. Foxy and Max arrived at Flo's shortly, and Foxy laid down at Fillmore's side, trying not to show the pain that was throbbing throughout her ribcage. She couldn't help uttering a small squeak, and Fillmore looked down at her worriedly. "Ya all right?"

Foxy nodded with a smile, then yawned. "I'm feeling a little tired is all." Fillmore nodded, and she stood up, limping at his side as the two went back to his dome.

"What happened to your foot, man?" Fillmore asked worriedly after seeing her sink into her chair.

"I must've wrenched it when I tripped over a rock by accident." She smiled sheepishly, and Fillmore shook his front end.

"You're a mighty big klutz, man." He replied affectionately, and nuzzled her side gently. She bolted upwards with an almost canine yelp, then began cringing further into the chair.

Fillmore backed off, confusion and slight fear in his eyes. "You're not all right. I can tell, man."

"You've just got to promise that you won't tell, Fillmore." She pleaded desperately, and Fillmore nodded.

"'Course I won't, man."

"Max got angry about Chick trying to do... that with me, and might've rammed into me." She replied quietly, and winced as a bolt of pain shot through her entire ribcage, sinking even lower into the chair.

"He WHAT?" Fillmore replied, his eyes widening in horror.

Foxy flinched away from him, shutting her eyes tightly. She had never seen Fillmore so worried about something, and was afraid that he'd strike her also. Fillmore rolled over to her and nuzzled her head gently, an expression on his face to rival Red's saddest one. Foxy whimpered quietly, and Fillmore laid down at her side, nuzzling her hair gently. He didn't dare do more then that, for fear of hurting her even more. She curled up gingerly, wincing and cringing, then drifted off to a painful sleep.

Fillmore gazed down at her in pity, then gently draped a thicker blanket over her as he noticed her shivering. He laid back down as close as possible to her side, his expression gloomy as he sank to the floor, asleep. He awoke the next morning to find Foxy whimpering in pain in her sleep. He gently nudged her head, whispering softly. "It's all right, man. You're all right."

She gradually stopped whimpering, and rolled over, never waking up. Fillmore laid back down at her side, unsure of what to do. He could take her to Doc, but he had promised that he wouldn't tell anyone. He could NOT take her, then risk her having another broken rib. He looked down at her sleeping form, thinking hard. He decided to leave her be, at least for a little while. He pulled the blankets up over her more, and even that gentle movement caused her to cringe in slight pain. Fillmore sighed sadly, then laid down at her side once more.

She woke up a few hours later, whimpering quietly as she stretched. Fillmore looked up alertly as she sat up shakily, yawning sleepily. "Hi, Fillmore." She replied softly, setting her hand on his front gently.

He noticed that she winced when she raised her hand, and this did nothing to raise his happiness. She curled up in the chair a few minutes later, moaning quietly and wincing.

"Stay here, man. I'm gonna be right back." He told her gently, setting a tire on her hair.

She nodded, then yawned. "I'm not going anywhere, Fillmore. There's no need to worry."

He smiled faintly down at her, then departed his dome.

Foxy snuggled under the blankets, shivering slightly. She was asleep again in minutes, curled up in the chair.

Fillmore came back shortly, Doc following. "She's sleepin' again, Doc. When I left she was awake." Fillmore rolled over to Foxy and gently nudged her awake again.

She moaned softly, then sat up, looking up at Fillmore sleepily. "Hi, Fillmore." She greeted him again, and just as softly as the first time. "Hi, Doc?" She looked over in Doc's direction with a sleepy, confused expression.

He chuckled, then replied with a greeting.

"What're you guys waking me up for?" She teased gently, stretching, then uttering an abrupt squeak of pain as a shock of pain shot up her sides. Doc's expression immediately became calculating and worried.

"That's why, man."

"What, me stretching?"

Fillmore shook his front firmly. "No, man. What happened yesterday."

"Ohh, that." Foxy replied quietly, shrinking back in her chair slightly.

"I just want to see what happened." Doc told her gently, and she nodded.

"I-I guess that Max got mad at Chick because of... things, and he said that he had no control over what he was doing when he rammed into me." She replied quietly, looking down at the floor.

Doc rolled backwards slightly in surprise. He nudged her gently in the side, attempting to comfort her. She bolted upwards with the same canine-like yelp as before, and Doc reversed quickly. "Sorry, Foxy. I didn't think that it was this bad."

"It's okay." She whispered, snuggling back under the blankets and shivering again.

Doc patted her head with a tire gently, then nodded his hood towards the door, looking over at Fillmore. Fillmore dipped his front end in a nod, then followed Doc out of his dome, patting Foxy on the head with a tire the same way Doc had.

"She might not have broken any ribs, but she probably bruised her sides good. Just keep her there for a few days."

Fillmore nodded his front end, then thanked Doc, who gave him a smile.

"Not a problem, Fillmore." His eyes drifted past Fillmore and back to Foxy, and his expression turned grim once more.

'_She'll be all right._' He thought, shaking his hood slightly to get rid of the murky images of Foxy writhing in pain forming. "See you over at Flo's, Fillmore." Doc said with a halfhearted smile, then rolled out of Fillmore's yard.

Fillmore drove back inside his dome to find Foxy sleeping again. He could tell that something was wrong, he knew that Foxy almost never slept longer then him, but Doc had said that she'd be all right. He laid down at Foxy's side, watching her sadly. She whimpered and rolled over in her sleep, snuggled underneath the blankets completely, her head not visible. Fillmore wondered in slight amusement how she could sleep completely covered. He slowly lifted up the edge of the blankets closest to him curiously, looking underneath them at her.

She was all curled up into a tight ball on her side, almost like a baby bear. Fillmore gently set the blanket back down over her, thinking that she looked like Thunder whenever he fell asleep at Flo's.

She woke up about five hours later, at about two o'clock. Moaning in slight pain, she sat up, looking around sleepily. She felt a light nudge at the back of her head, and rolled over onto her stomach, attempting to show no pain. She cringed anyways, then looked up at Fillmore sheepishly. "Hi, Fillmore."

"Hey, Elizabeth." He replied, nuzzling her head gently.

She sighed, then looked up at Fillmore with a saddened expression. "I guess that I've gotta stay here, right?"

Fillmore nodded, and Foxy rested her head against the top of the chair, lacing her arms around the back of the chair so they interlocked. She looked like a wilted flower, and Fillmore nuzzled her hair gently, trying to cheer her up. "C'mon, man. It'll be all right."

"I guess so." She replied emotionlessly with a sigh and wince.

"Hey, man, what about the frogs?"

"Are they still here?" Foxy asked curiously. Fillmore nodded, and brought the bucket over to her. She looked down into the bucket and saw the frogs, nearly doubled in size from the last time she had seen them.

A quiet bark made her look up alertly, and she smiled as Thunder sat down outside the beaded curtain, his tail wagging.

**xD Foxy had a disco/hippie moment. We're getting closer to my favorite part, yay! You'll read some things that you never IMAGINED would happen! *gasp* I've said too much... XD Anyways, everyone's summer going well? I hope so! :) **


	34. Snow and Superbirds

"Hi, Thunder."

Thunder woofed slightly louder, and began whining excitedly, his tail wagging faster.

"Dad says that I can't come out and play today." She told him with a grin.

Fillmore chuckled and watched as Thunder whimpered and his tail stopped wagging. "Ya can still come in, man." Fillmore called, and Thunder perked up again, darting in Fillmore's dome with a bark. He sat down at Foxy's side, and licked her face.

"Thunder, stop!" She pleaded, giggling weakly.

Thunder placed his paw on her head, his tongue lolling out in a doggy grin.

"You goofball." Foxy smiled, and gave him a hug. She drew back fairly quickly, wincing.

Thunder whined and nudged her shoulder gently.

"It's all right, Thunder. I'm okay." She replied quickly, but he wasn't buying it. He whimpered, then gently made his way into the beanbag chair, curling up around her. She yelped quietly in pain when Thunder laid his head on her side, and he whimpered, picking his head up quickly. "All right, so I'm not fine." She hissed slightly, and Thunder nuzzled her hand gently. She curled up into his side, shivering slightly. "How long have I been here, Fillmore?" She asked quietly, and Fillmore replied that it had been about two months. "Thanks." She replied with a smile, then gingerly hugged Thunder as she fell asleep again. Thunder gently set his head on hers, his tail poking out from under the blanket as it wagged.

Fillmore petted Thunder gently, then pulled the blanket higher up around the two. "Keep her company, okay, man?"

Thunder nodded, then gently set his head back down beside Foxy's.

"Thanks, man." Fillmore drove out of his dome to go get Foxy coffee, hoping that she'd be all right. He returned a few minutes later with Foxy's coffee, seeing that nothing had changed. Thunder was still laying with Foxy, who was snuggled against him. Fillmore set Foxy's coffee down, then laid down beside her. She whimpered in her sleep and rolled over, shivering slightly. Fillmore ruffled her bangs gently, wishing that there was a way to make her feel better. She moved towards him, and he gently put a tire over her. He smiled faintly as she began purring softly, so low that it was almost inaudible.

Thunder bolted awake, looking around in confusion. He gently nuzzled Foxy, then went back to sleep.

Fillmore chuckled quietly, then reluctantly tore his eyes away from her as he went to get her coffee. He set it down closer to her, then sighed sadly, not wanting to go wait for customers.

Even so, he drove outside to wait for the customers he doubted would be coming. He paced in his yard restlessly, occasionally kicking at a patch of frost-covered grass with a tire. He was sure that it was going to snow tonight, since the temperature had dropped significantly, and since it was beginning to sleet slightly. He cast a glance up at the sky, and found it charcoal-gray, and promising of snow to come. He sighed, but remained outside, waiting under the branches of his tree.

He doubted that Foxy would be very warm tonight, but that's what he was there for, right? She'd get all snuggly with him later on, and they could watch the snow fall from the doorway, Foxy draped in blankets.

He was pulled out of his daydream by Sarge's "Would've thought you were with Elizabeth.".

Fillmore shook his front end reluctantly, then replied about watching for customers.

Sarge snorted, then called back over his fence that there wouldn't be any customers.

Fillmore shook his front end again, then sighed.

* * *

He spotted movement down the road through the thickening sleet a few hours later, and peered closer. It looked like some sort of car.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

"Over here, man." Fillmore called, and heard an engine splutter, then wind down, slowly stopping.

"Great. Just great."

"What happened, man?"

"My engine stalled out, but please, you've got to help me."

"Where are ya, man?" Fillmore called, hesitantly driving out to the road.

"There's a sign that says 'Tow Mater Towing And Salvage' to my right." The voice called, and Fillmore realized that it sounded feminine. Fillmore glanced back at his dome, thinking of Foxy, then drove down the road carefully, trying to avoid running the car over. He soon came upon her, a young, dark purple 1970 Plymouth Superbird. She looked mangled seemingly beyond repair, and he noted that she had a large set of steer horns on her hood.

"Can ya get around without your engine runnin', man?" Fillmore asked, and the car nodded, a painful expression on her face. Fillmore pushed the car to his dome, and she instantly took notice of Foxy.

"What's that?"

"That's Foxy. She got hurt real bad, and is stayin' with me."

"You mean THE Foxy? As in THE Foxy on Lightning McQueen's racing team? That Foxy?"

Fillmore nodded, and the purple car grew excited.

"I'm her biggest fan!" She exclaimed, then winced. "Oww." She whispered, and Fillmore gave her a look of sympathy. "Is there a doctor in town? I'd like to get my engine running again."

Fillmore nodded, then replied, "Ya can stay here for the night, until the snow blows over."

"You saw those clouds too? I thought I was the only one who did." She gave him a smile of thanks, then chose a spot around the edge of the inside of the dome to sink weakly to the floor and fall asleep in. Fillmore smiled, then looked outside. The snow was just starting, and he gently woke up Foxy.

"Ya wanted to see snow in the desert, now's your time, man."

"Really?" She shakily got up, wrapping the blankets around her more as she felt the frigid night air.

Just like Fillmore had daydreamed, the two stopped just inside the beaded curtain, and laid down next to one another. Foxy wrapped herself in the blanket, pulling her knees in underneath the blanket. She leaned against Fillmore, shivering slightly. He gently put a tire around her and pulled her closer. She leaned her head against his side gently, smiling out at the silently falling snow.

"It's so pretty, Fillmore." She replied softly.

"It sure is, man." Fillmore agreed, and Foxy snuggled against Fillmore's side.

They watched as the snow piled up, higher and higher, then Fillmore remembered that he had brought Foxy coffee. "I brought ya coffee this mornin', man, but you were sleeping then." He apologized as he pushed the cold coffee towards her.

"It's all right. I like coffee any way." She gave him a smile, then sighed happily after taking a sip and leaned against his side, the blanket over her shoulders and knees. "Besides, if it's as good as Flo's coffee, then I could drink it all day long, no matter what temperature."

Fillmore smiled, and the two returned to watching the snow.

"I heard another voice in here earlier. Who was it, Fillmore?" She asked him curiously.

"She's sleepin' now, man. But she's over there." He pointed with a tire towards the back of the dome.

"Ohhh, that poor Superbird." She whispered softly, her eyes filling with sadness as she gazed upon the wrecked car.

"She was plannin' on goin' over to see Doc in the morning." Fillmore replied, and Foxy relaxed slightly.

Foxy began singing quietly, staring out into the snow.

"_What you got boy, is hard to find. I think about it, all the time. I'm all strung out, my heart is fried. Because your love, your love, your love, is my drug. Your love, your love, your love! I said your love, your love, your love, is my drug. Your love, your love, your love! Won't listen to any advice, momma's tellin' me I should think twice. Better left to my own devices, I'm addicted it's a crisis! My friends think I've gone crazy, my judgement's getting kinda hazy, my steeze is gonna be affected, if I keep it up like a lovesick crack head! What you got, boy, is hard to find. I think about it, all the time. I'm all strung out, my heart is fried. I just can't get you off my mind. Because your love, your love, your love is my drug. Your love, your love, your love! I said your love, your love, your love is my drug. Your love, your love, your love! I don't care what people say, the rush is worth the price I pay. I get so high when you're with me, but crash and crave you when you leave! _"

She snuggled closer to Fillmore when she had finished, yawning quietly. Fillmore smiled down at her, and she curled up against his side, setting her head on his side gently.

They sat there for a few more minutes, then Foxy announced that she didn't ever want to leave because she'd miss him too much. She curled up at his side and fell asleep, smiling gently.

Fillmore chuckled quietly, then gently lifted her over to her beanbag chair bed. He set her down and covered her securely in the blanket, not even producing a whimper of pain from Foxy. He laid down next to her chair and nuzzled her gently before falling asleep.

Early the next morning, Fox awoke with a yawn and a failed attempt at stretching. She was still in too much pain to do much of anything, so she slumped back into her chair and petted Thunder, who she had found lying next to her. He awoke abruptly, and sat up, his tail wagging. "Hi, Thunder. You missed the snow last night." Foxy whispered with a smile as she pointed outside. The sky was just beginning to lighten, so none of the snow had melted. It looked to be about a foot high, and Thunder jumped out of the beanbag chair, running to jump into the snow.

Foxy fought to suppress a giggle since Fillmore was still sleeping as she watched Thunder roll around and eat the snow. Thunder looked up her way, and she let a quiet snicker out of her mouth. He had a clump of snow on his head, sitting perfectly in between his ears, which were pricked like bat ears. He was covered in snow, making him seem much older then he probably was. "Thunder, stay like that, please? I want to take a picture." Foxy pleaded, and it seemed like he froze. Foxy grinned, then pulled a small, waterproof, battery-operated digital camera out of her pocket. She turned it on, then snapped a picture of Thunder. She gave him a thumbs up to show she was finished, and he shook the snow off before coming back inside.

He nudged the camera with his muzzle, sniffing at it curiously. "Do you want to see?" She whispered, then showed him his picture. "You're a goofball, Thunder." She whispered, ruffling the fur on his head, which was damp. He licked up one side of her face, then down the other.

She tried her hardest not to laugh, but let out a small giggle escape anyways.

Fillmore woke up shortly, blinking sleepily and yawning. "Sorry, Fillmore." Foxy apologized, grinning sheepishly.

"It's all right, man." Fillmore gave her a smile and gentle nuzzle before he looked over at the damaged Superbird.

She appeared to be sleeping but uttered a quiet whimper accompanied by a twitch every so often.

"Should I go comfort her?" Foxy whispered, seeing that the Superbird was deeply asleep. Fillmore gave her a shrug, and Foxy sighed. She quietly walked over to the girl car, and began rubbing her hood, whispering quietly to her. The young car's whimpers diminished, along with the twitches.

"There." Foxy replied quietly with a smile.

"What's that, man?" Fillmore asked curiously, seeing a corner of Foxy's camera sticking out of her pocket.

"It's a camera." She replied with a smile before pulling it out.

"That's a really small camera." Fillmore commented, and Foxy smiled.

"Yeah, that's why I like it. Plus, it's waterproof." Seeing Fillmore's confused expression, Foxy explained that the camera could be used in water also.

"So that's why it didn't get ruined when ya went to the waterfall?"

Foxy nodded, then she and Fillmore turned as one towards the young Superbird, who was hyperventilating and whimpering and twitching.

**SNOW! :D In August... xD **

**Any thoughts as to who the Superbird could be, why she's damaged, why her engine died?**

**Anyone else want a picture of a big dog like Thunder playing in the snow? ^^**


	35. Lily's Backstory and Foxy's Mixture

Abruptly, her eyes shot open as she screamed in horror.

"Hey, calm down. It's all right. You're okay." Foxy replied gently, and the Superbird looked around with a slightly less panicked look in her eyes. Foxy moved slowly towards the Superbird, and gently set her hand on her hood.

The young Superbird looked up at her, still slightly fearful.

"You're okay. We're not going to hurt you." Foxy said quietly, gently rubbing the Superbird's hood.

That seemed to calm the Superbird down as her eyes fell shut.

"So what's your name?" Foxy asked after the car seemed calmer.

"I'm Lily. Just Lily."

"I'm-"

"I know who you are. You're Lightnin' McQueen's mascot, Foxy. Where are your tail and ears? Did someone cut them off?"

Foxy smiled, then replied that they were in Lightning's trailer, and that they were removable.

Lily nodded, then winced.

"I might be able to take a look at your engine, if you'd want." Foxy replied with a timid smile, and Lily's expression became oddly fearful.

"N-No thanks, I think I'll wait for the doctor to fix it."

"Oh, all right." Foxy replied, and couldn't help but wonder why Lily was afraid of getting her engine looked at.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I'm picky about who fixes me." She replied apologetically.

Foxy smiled, then patted Lily's hood, letting her fingertips drift back and forth across the large steer horns on Lily's hood, deep in thought.

"Hey, cut it out." Lily replied with a slight giggle.

"Huh?" Foxy gave herself a slight shake, then looked at Lily. "Sorry." Foxy removed her fingers, blushing slightly.

"It's okay."

"It ain't too common to see a Superbird with horns like those." Fillmore commented, and Lily smiled.

"That's because I got them and placed them on all by myself."

"You mean you bought them?" Lily smiled wider, and shook her hood slightly.

"Nope."

"You didn't kill the animal for them!" Foxy gasped in horror, and Lily frowned.

"No, I'm not an animal killer. If I was, I wouldn't own a farm, right?"

"You own a farm?" Foxy asked eagerly, her interest peaked.

"I sure do. Got all kinds of animals. Anyway, these are from my favorite steer who used to live on my farm. That old boy would follow me around like a puppy." Lily smiled at the memory before continuing. "He was about twenty-three years old before he broke a leg and they had to put him down. I kept his horns as a memory."

Foxy liked this Superbird, more then a sister, or best friend. She had a farm, then mounted the horns of the animal she had loved on her hood.

"If you woulda saw him, you never would've been afraid of him. He was a big baby." Lily giggled slightly.

"Really?" Foxy asked, sitting down in front of Lily.

"Yeah. He used to eat hay straight off my hood. I remember the one time, as a prank, one of my best friends tied a big chunk of hay to my tailfin. Petey kept mouthin' my tailfin, and followin' along behind me, closer then usual. Finally, I turned around and asked him why he was doin' that. He pulled some of the hay from the chunk, and I realized that someone had tied it to my tailfin. I couldn't stop laughin' for the rest of the day." As she began talking more, the southern accent in her voice was growing more pronounced, and she had a calm, quiet way of talking that Foxy wished she had.

"His horns are pretty big." Foxy replied happily, marveling at the width from tip to tip.

"Yep. He had the biggest horns in the county."

"Wow. How wide are they? About eighty inches?"

"Heck no, more like eight and a half feet." **(A/N: Eighty inches is the length that the larger version of horns on Texas Longhorn cattle can reach, I just wanted to make it seem unbelievably large.)**

"That's huge!" Lily nodded, then winced.

"You should get over to Doc. He'll fix you up, then you can get back to your farm."

"Yeah, and thanks for findin' me, and lettin' me stay overnight." She gave Fillmore a smile, and he returned it, then began pushing Lily out of his dome, not letting Foxy help.

Foxy sat down reluctantly in the beanbag chair that she had turned into a bed, stubbornly pouting as she watched the two leave without her.

"Don't go nowhere, man. I'll be back soon." Fillmore called back to her as he heard the curtain move.

She jumped slightly at being caught sneaking away with them, then sulked as she went back inside Fillmore's dome.

Fillmore chuckled, then continued pushing Lily over towards Doc's.

"Are you and Foxy friends, best friends, or...?" Lily asked cautiously.

Fillmore shrugged before replying, "I ain't too sure. Sometimes, it sure seems like it, but then other times, it seems like she's scared of somethin'."

"Sounds to me like she's been crushed before." Lily replied, and Fillmore looked confused.

"What are ya sayin, man?"

"That she's been hurt by somebody real bad. Y'know, her heart crushed into tiny pieces by someone that she was more then friends with, and ever since then, she never was 'more then friends' with anybody?"

Fillmore nodded sadly, then gave Lily another nudge. He hadn't thought that Foxy might've had someone else in her heart besides him. "But who would want to hurt her like that, man? She's really groovy, and she's nice, and friendly too."

"Somebody who ain't very nice, who was lookin' to get somethin' outta her, and when they didn't get it, they told her goodbye for the last time."

Fillmore looked down at the ground, thinking hard. His eyes suddenly widened, and he gave Lily another nudge. He had run things through his mind quickly, with everything that he knew about Foxy, and it all added up, paired with the guesses that Lily had. He didn't say anything out loud, but the thought was struggling to be let out. He pushed Lily into Doc's clinic, and onto the lift, Doc looking Lily over the second she rolled through the door.

Once he had made sure Lily was going to be fine with Doc, he departed the clinic, and rolled back over to his dome. He parked just outside his dome, to the right of the doorway. He shut off his engine, then waited.

Sure enough, Foxy peeked out the beaded curtain a few minutes later, looking around cautiously. Fillmore had parked farther back, and was hidden from Foxy's line of sight. She crept out of his dome, looking around nervously.

He let her get all the way to the road before calling out, extremely loudly, "Where ya goin', man?" He chuckled as Foxy jumped a foot in the air.

"Fillmore! I-I didn't see you there!" She replied shakily with a small, shaky laugh.

He drove over to her, smiling slightly.

"I-I was just trying to... You see, what I wanted to do was...I didn't...Uhh?" Foxy stammered, finally giving up and giving Fillmore a sheepish grin.

Fillmore laughed and shook his front end. "Ya know that Doc doesn't want ya leavin' here for at least a few days, man." Fillmore replied, and Foxy sighed, partly because Fillmore wasn't mad, partly because she was getting bored with sitting around, not doing anything.

"I know, Fillmore. I'm sorry." She replied, and Fillmore nudged her gently.

"Cheer up, man. You'll be better in a few days, then we can go for a good game of Marco Polo."

"Really? Thanks, Fillmore." She replied, hugging his front.

The two went back into his dome, and Fillmore remembered abruptly that she had wondered if they could make some organic fuel that she could taste. "Let's make some organic fuel, man."

"Huh?" Foxy asked, bewildered.

"Let's make some that ya could taste."

"Fillmore, you remembered." Foxy replied with a smile, then asked what they would need.

"Ya like apples, right?"

"Sure I do. I used to eat them all the time." She replied with a smile.

"Then this should be easy."

"Should I get Mater?"

Fillmore nodded, and Foxy went back to his beaded curtain. She leaned out, and called loudly for Mater, who appeared at her side in seconds.

"Hi, Mater. We need you to go get some apples for us." Foxy turned to Fillmore, looking at him curiously. "How many do you think we need, Fillmore?"

"I dunno exactly. Just get as many as ya can, man."

Mater nodded, then darted out of Fillmore's dome.

"Now we wait for him to get back." Foxy replied, and Fillmore nodded. He was glad that he had found something that would keep her here, and content. He had sensed that she was getting restless.

About an hour later, Mater returned, carrying a truck bed full of apples. "How's these ones, Foxy?" He asked, and she gave him a smile.

"They're perfect, Mater, thank you."

Mater gave her a buck-toothed grin in return, then dumped the apples into a bucket. They filled up the bucket, and Foxy climbed into Mater's truck bed to retrieve the last remaining apples. She pushed them into the bucket, chasing after the ones that bounced out.

"Now what, Fillmore?" She asked eagerly, and Mater answered.

"Now ya gotta cut 'em an' squeeze the juice out."

Fillmore nodded, and Foxy looked confused.

"How do I do that with no knife? Oh, wait, hold on." She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a Swiss army knife. "My dad gave it to me a couple of years back." She added, then began flicking through the accessories. "Here's the one I want, right?" She asked, and showed Fillmore a serrated-edged knife.

"Just don't cut yourself, man." Fillmore cautioned, and Foxy nodded.

She set to work slicing the apples, then looked up curiously.

"What else are we going to put in here?" She asked, the pile of apples next to her and the bottom of the bucket covered in a thin layer of apple juice.

"Hmm... I dunno, man. What else do ya want in it?"

"I do like coffee, and I guess carrots.."

"How about cloves, man?"

"Sure." Foxy replied with a smile.

"Ohh, honey! Honey's mighty sweet." Mater chimed in with a grin.

Foxy nodded, then got back to cutting the apples, then squeezing them.

About midway through, she yelped slightly, and pulled her hand back, dropping the apple. There was a bright red drip of blood running down her hand from the cut in her finger. "Oww." She whispered, and Fillmore nudged her hand gently.

"Ya all right?"

"I guess I wasn't watching what I was doing, because I cut myself." She replied sheepishly, then it began stinging. "Ooh, that stings!" She squealed, hopping around and sucking on the cut.

Fillmore followed after her, trying to get her to sit down. "C'mere, man! C'mere!" He wasn't having much luck, so Mater drove around in front of her, anticipating her next move. She bumped into him, and toppled over.

"Owwch."

Fillmore drove closer, looking at her worriedly, and she cringed slightly.

"Don't touch it, don't touch it." She pleaded, wincing as she looked at it and beginning to back up, instinctively.

"I just wanna see it, man."

Foxy bit her lip as she showed Fillmore the slit in her finger that was still bleeding profusely.

"It's pretty deep, man. We should probably take ya over to Doc."

"He's going to get mad though. I just know it."

"Why do ya say that?"

"Because it was my own fault, and I should've paid more attention to what I was doing."

"He ain't gonna be mad at ya, Foxy." Mater told her gently, and she sighed.

"Fine, I'll go." She continued sucking on the cut, which was still stinging. Fillmore and Foxy went outside, and Foxy shuddered at the sudden cold temperatures. "It's so cold out." She whimpered, pressing closer to Fillmore.

Fillmore nuzzled her gently as they arrived at Doc's. He drove inside, Foxy following.

Lily was up on the lift, and gave them a smile as they entered.

"Hi, Lily." Foxy greeted her with a smile.

"Hey there, Foxy. Long time no see, huh?" Lily relied with a grin.

Foxy giggled, then agreed.

"What did you do?" Doc asked in slight horror, seeing the roughly half-inch-long slit in her finger, along with the blood.

"I cut my finger while slicing an apple." She replied, looking at her feet.

"You sure did." Doc replied, then dug through a cabinet. He pulled out a few balls of cotton, then a roll of gauze. He wrapped her finger quickly, and the job was finished in about five minutes.

"Thanks, Doc."

"Just don't try slicing any more apples for a while, all right?" He replied with a gentle smile and nudge.

She nodded, then she and Fillmore departed into the cold wind that was blowing. Foxy whimpered slightly and pressed closer to Fillmore. Foxy walked back to Fillmore's fairly quickly, trying to avoid the cold, freezing wind that was gusting in her face. Fillmore was following along behind her, keeping her from falling as the wind shoved her backwards.

They entered Fillmore's dome, and Foxy sank down in her chair, shivering. Fillmore tugged the blankets over her gently, and she curled up almost instantly.

"Thanks, Fillmore." She replied, inching closer to his side.

"We can finish makin' the organic fuel tomorrow." He replied with a smile as he nuzzled her gently. She nodded with a soft smile, then curled up against his fender and fell asleep. He departed her side gently to move the apples and bucket out of the way. He placed them in the back of his dome, then laid down next to Foxy, as close as possible without waking her.

She rolled over, her hands shooting out suddenly, and hugging Fillmore's front tire to her chest. She curled up around his fender and front end with a soft, happy sigh. Fillmore looked down at her fondly, then drifted off to sleep, his right front tire being hugged by Foxy.

The next morning, when Foxy woke up, Fillmore was nowhere to be found. "Fillmore?" She looked around in confusion with a yawn.

She found a note lying next to her chair, and she picked it up.

In plain print, it read, '_Sorry for not bein' there when ya woke up, but we had to get to the track early to see if Sheriff could arrest Chick. I'll be back before ya know it, Elizabeth._ ' The note was signed by Fillmore.

Foxy gazed at the note fondly, then folded it up carefully and placed it in her wallet. She stretched, getting up out of the chair. She wanted to go over and see who else was still around.

Suddenly, her name was called from outside.

"Yeah?" She shouted back.

"Are ya comin' out anytime soon?"

"I guess I am now." She called back with a grin.

She walked outside, blinking in the bright sunlight. "Here I am."

Strip, who was parked at Fillmore's sign at the road, gave her a smile.

She returned it, then shivered. "It's freezing out here! Why'd you drag me into this icebox?" She teased with a grin, and Strip laughed quietly.

"This ain't cold, Foxy. I'm used to much worse."

Foxy shook her head with a laugh, then walked over to Strip.

"Looks like your shoes are gettin' old."

Foxy looked down, and sure enough, the shoes were ratty, and there were numerous holes throughout the pair.

"Yeah, you're right. I wonder if Fillmore found my bag. I had it on when I was looking at that star."

"Why would ya need the bag, Foxy?"

"It had a pair of boots in it, plus some other stuff." She replied. Strip nodded in understanding, and the two departed Fillmore's, heading to Flo's.

The others were already there, and Foxy sat down at Red's side. Red couldn't have looked happier, and nuzzled her in greeting. "Hi, Red. I missed you too." She said with a smile and a hug.

"My turn!" Harry giggled, and Foxy laughed.

"All right, your turn." She gave him a hug, and smiled as she listened to his engine rumble happily. "So this is everybody?" She asked when Harry's hug was done, looking around at the others.

"Yeah, this is all of us." Sally replied.

"Did you guys see me with a bag? Or did Max have one?"

"I think Max had one. Was it yours?"

"It might have been. What color was the one he had?"

"It was lots of colors."

"That's the one." Foxy replied with a smile. "Thanks, Sally."

"Of course, Foxy." Sally gave her a smile, and Foxy headed for Max's cone.

"Max? Are you in there?"

The door rolled up, and Max yawned widely.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." She replied, and Max nodded, blinking sleepily.

Foxy patted his hood gently, then asked if he had seen her bag.

He nodded sleepily again, then nudged her gently. She followed him as he backed up and drove further into the cone. She noticed that he had set it carefully at the side of the couch.

"Thanks, Max." Foxy replied gratefully, and dug through her bag, looking for her boots. She pulled them out, and untied her high-topped sneakers, pulling them off quickly before placing the boots on.

The boots, which had thick fleece inside, went up to her knees, made for high piles of snow.

**Just a little more info on Lily's steer, Petey, in case you didn't see my message above: Petey was a Texas Longhorn, and I know that their horns only get to be about 80 inches maximum. I just wanted to put in eight feet to make it seem like he was this big, intimidating steer that was really a sweetheart. :) I want a Longhorn really bad... they're so awesome. :3 And I want a miniature pig, and lots of dogs, and lots of cars, and llamas... the list goes on... xD See you on Saturday! ~Liz**


	36. The Change of Color For Foxy

**Warning, Chick has a bit of a pottymouth in this. xD**

She sighed happily, then dug through her bag again, looking at what else she had in it. She pulled out a picture of her father, a better hairbrush then the one in her pocket, her phone which surprisingly worked, a slightly raggedy-maned stuffed pony, and red and yellow hair dye. "Where did this hair dye come from?" She asked herself, then gasped. She had planned on going to a friend's house that day, and they were going to dye each other's hair the colors of their favorite NASCAR vehicle. Foxy's friend had volunteered to help Foxy dye her hair the color of Jeff Gordon's car, yellow and red. There was also a bottle of hair bleach in the bag. She smiled, then pulled the hair dye, brush, and phone out of the bag, putting everything else back. "Hmmm... I wonder if anyone knows how to dye hair?"

As soon as she said it, her mind instantly clicked on Ramone. "But he's at the race..." Then she thought of Fillmore. She figured that he knew how to dye things because it looked like each of his blankets had been wheel-dyed by him. "He's at the race too..."

'_Doc?_' At the race.

'_Guido!_' At the race... Foxy sighed, then began to think harder. She soon gave up though, and packed the hair dye away. She hoisted her bag, which was really more of a satchel, over one shoulder, and departed the cone. She sat down at Flo's, musing over her thoughts.

"What's wrong, Foxy?"

"I was just thinking, '_Does anyone know how to dye something?_'"

Red nudged her gently, and she looked his way.

"Do you, Red?"

He nodded, and Foxy gave him a smile.

"Would you be willing to dye my hair?"

Red looked confused, and gently reached his wheel up to her hair.

She gave him a smile. "I wanted to do it in Lightning's colors."

"But ain't that stuff permanent?" Strip asked, confused.

"No, it only lasts about three weeks."

"The others will certainly be surprised when they get back." Brian told her, and she smiled.

"They sure will. I'll bet Doc will flip out." She said with a laugh.

Red nudged her gently, and nodded his front towards the firehouse.

"Could we do it now?" She asked, and he nodded. "Thanks, Red." She gave him a large grin, and he nuzzled her gently, his engine purring.

They departed Flo's for Red's home, and Foxy's voice drifted back to the others.

"I was planning on having it already be these colors, but then my friend canceled. She forgot that she had to go to her grandmother's."

Red nodded understandingly, then the two disappeared behind the garage door rolling down.

"Can you do two separate colors?" She asked him, and he nodded. "I'm going to owe you big time for doing this for me, Red." She replied with a smile, and he blushed, scuffing a tire against the floor bashfully.

"I think we should do the red first, don't you, Red?" She replied with a grin and giggle.

Red laughed silently, then nodded. He got the bleach ready, and soon Foxy's hair was bleached to a light cream color. Red soon began dying Foxy's hair down to where she wanted the red color to stop. He was soon finished, and began dying the rest yellow. The red and yellow stayed separated, and Foxy gave Red a smile when he was finished.

"Thanks so much, Red. I know Lightning and the others are going to flip out." She laughed gently, and Red soon hosed the excess dye out of her hair. When it was done, he gestured to the door. Foxy followed him, and he nudged her towards his ladder. "This is the drying part, right?" She said with a smile.

To her surprise, Red nodded. "All right! Cool!" She grabbed hold of one of Red's ladders, and they took off, Foxy's red and yellow hair streaming out behind her. Foxy felt at her hair cautiously, and found it to be dry. "Okay, I think it's dry, Red." She called, and Red stopped. She got down, and he pulled around so he was facing her. She pulled her hair over her shoulder, and blinked in surprise.

"It's amazing, Red!" She exclaimed, running to him and hugging his front end. "I love it!" She squealed happily, and Red petted her hair gently, taking notice that it had grown longer in the months that he had known her.

"It looks okay, right?" She asked anxiously, and Red nodded with a grin.

"Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She squealed, hopping around excitedly.

Red blushed and scuffed a tire in the dirt. He looked up at her, and she climbed back on, holding onto his ladder. He took her back to town, her hair streaming out behind her again. Red parked at Flo's, and the others blinked in surprise.

"Wow is it bright!" Strip exclaimed, and Foxy laughed.

"Just how I love it!"

"Foxy, your hair's on fire!" DJ exclaimed, then he, Wingo, and Boost burst out laughing.

Foxy laughed. "No, Red dyed it for me."

"It looks nice, Foxy." Brian replied with a smile.

"Thanks." She grinned.

"Just wait until Lightning sees you! He'll think you wanted to look the part of the mascot!" Sally said with a laugh.

Foxy laughed, then went back over to Fillmore's to finish slicing the apples. She finished shortly, being super careful not to cut herself. She looked into the bucket, seeing that they had about a foot of apple juice. "I wonder if I did this right..." She muttered softly, then decided to wash the sticky apple juice off her hands. She went to the waterfall, and dipped her hands in the water, rubbing them together.

When she felt as though all the stickiness was off her hands, she shook them off the best she could, and used the sleeves of her sweatshirt to dry them off. She walked back to the town, and a breeze blew her hair back. Now that the sun was out, it was warm, with the only kind of warmth that the wintertime sunshine could bring.

She sat down next to Red, who began petting her hair absentmindedly as they tuned into the race. Foxy couldn't wait to see Fillmore's expression when he saw her hair. Foxy went back to Fillmore's dome that night, giggling at the thought of Fillmore finding her and being surprised.

She fell asleep quickly, and woke up the next morning to the dome empty. She sighed sadly, then brushed her hair gently to get it back into place before going over to Flo's.

"Mornin', Foxy."

"Hi, Strip." She gave him a slightly sleepy smile, and he chuckled before ruffling her hair gently. "Hey, come on, I just brushed it." She whined playfully, then laughed and sat down at his side.

"Where'd they go again?"

"They went up to Denver, so they should be back soon." Sally replied with a smile.

"I can't wait to congratulate Lightning on winning again." Foxy replied with a smile.

'_And for Fillmore to get a look at my hair._' She thought happily.

A few hours later, Sally spotted them coming back, and Foxy hid in Fillmore's dome, giggling. Sure enough, Fillmore drove in and his bumper dropped to the ground. "Elizabeth, what happened to your hair, man?"

"Red dyed it for me!" She laughed, seeing his expression. "Do you like it?"

"It's groovy, man. Really bright."

"I know! I love it!" She squealed, hugging his front end tightly.

He smiled, and began petting her hair. "It's even brighter then it was before."

Foxy grinned, and the two went outside. They went over to Flo's, and just like Foxy expected, Doc began telling her off for dying her hair.

"I like it." Lightning announced with a large grin.

"It looks good, man. It suits ya." Ramone agreed, nudging her gently.

"Thanks, you guys." Foxy said with a grin.

"I still don't think you should've dyed it this brightly, Foxy. It's gonna damage your hair."

"Doc, my hair color before was dyed in."

"It was?"

"Of course. You didn't think that I actually had hair that beautiful color, did you? My original hair color is blonde."

Doc rolled his eyes and sighed, then returned to talking with Sheriff about arresting Chick.

"And blondes are supposed to be really dumb." She replied with a grin.

"They are?"

"Yeah, Blondes are really dumb, Brunettes are really dumb too, Gingers don't have a soul, Black-haired people are 'Emo', and everything else is just everything else." She replied, rolling her eyes at the word 'Emo'.

"What's a 'Ginger'?" Strip asked, and Foxy smiled.

"Basically, a person with bright red hair. Like Lightning. Or Red. Or Mack." Red flashed Foxy a horrified look, and Foxy assured him that she had been comparing the colors. "It was just an example, Red. Trust me, you've got a soul. Now, as for Lightning, I'm not too sure." She replied teasingly, and Lightning drove over and cuffed her gently over the head.

"Okay, Okay, I'm kidding!" She replied as he began poking his tire into her side, making her laugh and begin squirming.

"And hey, just be glad that I didn't dye it some ridiculous color, like purple, or something." She replied.

"Your hair is red and yellow!" Sheriff told her loudly around his laughter.

"So?" Foxy replied with a teasing grin.

"Not only is it one ridiculous color, but it's TWO ridiculous colors!" The others laughed, and Foxy grinned.

"I'm glad you finally noticed that I dyed my hair, Sheriff."

He gave her a look, even though he was trying not to laugh and failing badly. Foxy joined in his laughter, and Flo set at coffee down at her side.

"It's really long, honey." Flo said with a gentle smile as she touched Foxy's hair with a tire.

"It sure is. If I can get it longer, then I'll be able to sit on it."

"Why would ya wanna do that?" Sheriff asked.

"Because that means that my hair is the longest it's ever been."

"Really?"

Foxy nodded with a smile. "I love having really, really long hair." She replied.

"So how'd it go? They didn't show anything on Chick."

"That's because Sheriff arrested him before the race." Lightning replied with a grin.

"Too cocky for his own good. Was in his trailer admiring a new sponsor sticker or somethin' when I booked him." Sheriff replied with an eye roll.

"That doesn't surprise me." Foxy nearly hissed. "What did you do with him?"

"Put the boot on him and put him in the impound, what else?" Lightning replied with a wicked grin. He gave Foxy a gentle nudge, and whispered, low enough that Sheriff couldn't hear, "You want to go rub it in his hood that we caught him?"

Foxy grinned, then Lightning motioned to his hood with a tire.

"Climb on." Foxy sat down on his hood, and they were off.

Once they were far enough away, Foxy asked, "How are we going to torment him?"

"You'll see. He was ready to explode when Sheriff finally told me to stop."

They arrived at the impound, and soon saw Chick, sulking in the back corner. "Yo, Chick!" Lightning shouted, and Chick cringed.

"For the last time, rook, STOP SCREAMING! I'm right here!"

"That's no way to talk to Lightning!" Foxy replied angrily, jumping off Lightning's hood and lunging for the gate.

"If it isn't the squealer that got me locked up in this hellhole." Chick replied with venom, his lip curling in a sneer.

"It was your own fault. I told you no, but you continued. You really should learn to listen next time, Chick. Oh, wait, there will be NO NEXT TIME! If I ever see you free, that'll be the day I die." She screamed at him, her eyes blazing, her hair seeming to stand on end.

Chick cringed backwards as Foxy moved closer. She clung to the fence, gripping the rusty chain link tightly.

"And guess what? I'll be taking you with me." She hissed.

Lightning was watching with slight fear. He had never seen Foxy this angry before.

Even Chick knew that he had made Foxy extremely angry, not even able to look at her. His eyes were cast down to his hood as he shrank back in the corner slightly.

Foxy glanced to the side, and saw that there was a way to get to where Chick was. She gradually slipped along the fence line, until she was right behind him without him noticing.

**First things first, I don't believe in the whole 'Blondes are supposed to be stupid, people with black hair are Emo, and Ginger's have no soul' thing. It's just a good thing to joke about with my Bf, since he's a ginger. :) **


End file.
